The Physician and the Flower
by Doctorpotterfirelordjim
Summary: Rewrite of season Three with Rose ;) Fluffy in some parts and twisting of the plot. Rated T not for language but some scenes. Now that the Doctor and Rose get to spend more time with each other what uncharted territory will be crossed, in more ways than one? Allons-y!
1. Chapter 1

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE  
FLOWER

Endings and Beginnings

Rose watched as hundreds upon thousands of Daleks and Cybermen flew past her into the void that was Hell. It was ironic- that something so feared and loathed by society; a place of darkness and despair; that never-ending nonexistence- gave her such hope. It filled her, in a funny way, with joy at the same time as misery, to watch her enemies be swallowed whole.

And somehow, throughout all this chaos, it was perfect. The always reappearing nemesis that were the Dalek race were, hopefully, being rid of forever. The scary Cybermen that walk with their mechanical sound of death in the back of her mind would tread no more into her nightmares. The Doctor held tight, his hair flying on his head so that Rose could see every shade of its beautiful brown. His pinstripe suit and blue tie flapped about him almost as vigorously as the shoelaces on his chucks. The intensity in his old eyes displayed how truly important this moment was. Rose held even tighter. She wasn't going to let the universe separate her from her Doctor anymore. Nothing was going to ruin them... all but the leaver to the void, slowly crawling its way back.

No._NO_. She couldn't let this happen. Not now. Not when everything was finally going to be okay! Life was too good for it to be ruined by the turning back of a simple leaver. Rose was determined. She reached for the leaver to bring it back into its locked position. It was a far reach so she let go of the handle on the wall.

"Rose!" the Doctor screamed. "Rose! No!" He was terrified. He didn't want to lose her. She had given up everything for him and he wasn't going to let her give her life as well. But he couldn't do anything about it. There was no way to reach Rose without falling into the void, and there was no way that leaver was going to make its way back without her. All the while he screamed 'no', he knew that she had to do it, and she did too.

She pulled on the leaver with all the strength that she could muster; anything to save the life she knew. With some struggle, the leaver clicked back into place. The void was going to remain, just as long as it was supposed to. She smiled at the Doctor with her blonde hair blowing around in her face catching her hoops and getting in her view of him.

The Doctor smiled back at her. Everything was alright. It was perfect. No more trouble. No more Daleks. No more Cybermen. Everything was going to be just fine. That was, until, her hands started to slip... Her palms were sweaty and tired and the amount of energy it too to put back the leaver was too much to leave any left for her grip to function. And with not the slightest intention, not by _letting_ go; but because her hands failed to grasp the leaver, they simply slid away.

She was on her way into the void. Hell was going to take her away from the world with no remorse. In those split seconds the Doctor screamed as loud as he could, "ROSE!" He yelled with so much intensity and emotion one could tell by the mere look on his face that the place Rose was headed was, indeed, Hell.

But before it could take her, she was suspended in midair. Her hair flew all around her, each strand glowing. Her eyes shone heavy with gold. The Doctor was so shocked he barely had time to sort out his feelings. He was mixed with different emotions... Rose was alive! It was a miracle, but, it was Bad Wolf who had saved her; or rather, she was Bad Wolf... She stood there letting the time vortex fight against the void so that it was letting her stay amongst this world. This shouldn't have happened... This couldn't have happened! He had taken all of the time vortex out of her, or so her thought... Who knew how long it had been inside her? Was it growing? Leaving no space for her brain? Could it be killing her? He shuddered at the thought of a wilting Rose.

Quickly the whirlpool that was the void was beginning to close. And as the swirling lessened and the hole began to shrink, it took its last breath of the universes air with it, but not Rose. It shut and became a wall, a normal Torchwood tragedy to never be opened again. And Rose crumbled to the floor, only feet from it.

The Doctor ran for her and scooped her up gently in his arms. He placed his head to her chest and felt her single heart beat. She was unconscious, but alive. Alive! Bad Wolf hadn't killed her by saving her, or at least- he tried not to think about it- not yet... He walked around Torchwood with Rose in his arms. it seemed like a victory except for the occasional need to step over the victims of the Cybermen and the Daleks.

Once he found the TARDIS he quickly rushed inside and layed Rose down onto the cushiony seat next to the console. He brushed her hair out of her face and then plucked one from her head. He gave it to the console to analyze and not long after, he got his results. He sifted through looking for what made Bad Wolf possible. After a while he shouted,

"Huon particles?!" He looked at Rose, who shifted slightly in her slumber. "Huon particles haven't been around for Years!"

He was genuinely worried about Rose. He hoped she would be okay and they would talk in the morning because now she needed to rest. He took her up to her room in the TARDIS and gently laid her in her bed. He looked at her softly and covered her up. For a while he sat at the foot of her bed just watching her in peace. It was over. No more Daleks and Cybermen... But now something had just begun and he wasn't sure what. He placed a kiss on her forehead and left the room. He made his way back to the console and put the TARDIS into the vortex.

Suddenly he saw a woman, a _woman_, standing in the TARDIS not too far from the console. A woman who wasn't Rose. She was a read head wearing a Wedding gown and looked very confused.

"What?!" asked the doctor.

"Oi!" the lady yelled, "Where am I?!"

"What?!" the Doctor asked again.

** My first piece of work ;) I edited out some mistakes and I hope you like it. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE  
FLOWER

Runaway Bride- Donna

The Doctor eyed her from head to toe. She was a woman, a real human being- well, as far as he could tell- standing, uninvited, in the TARDIS. She looked at the Doctor with emotions both confused and angry.

"Who are you?!" She yelled with a rather high volume to her voice. After a while when no response emanated from the Doctor, she screamed, "What the Hell is this place?!"

His thoughts ran through his head thinking about every situation in which this could have been possible, but it was all blank! He had never had this happen before. This was all new territory for the Doctor. First Rose, and now this... Two impossible women in the course of a few hours.

"You can't do that!" The Doctor stammered, his mind still trying to make sense of everything. "We were in flight. That's physically impossible! How did-"

"Tell me where I am!" She interrupted him with a stomp of her foot from beneath her dress. "I demand you tell me right now; where am I?!"

It was clear to him that this woman had no intentions of being on the TARDIS and might have been more shocked than him. Also, she was not amused, for some reason she was filled more with anger and disappointment compared to surprise. This wasn't an ordinary woman. She was also making a lot of noise...

"Sh! Sh! Shhh... Stop yelling. You'll wake Rose." He whispered while walking around the console pushing some buttons and repositioning a leaver or two.

"Ro- what are you talking about!?" Still speaking rather loud. "Where am I?!"

"Inside the TARDIS..." Said the Doctor, still getting over his bafflement.

"The _what_?"

"The TARDIS." He was getting tired of explaining things to the surprise visitor. He was exhausted, mostly mentally, because for a few seconds I his life- his long, weary life- he thought he had lost the most important thing to him. Also, that thing of precious importance, was somehow in danger because of Bad Wolf; and that made this occasion rare because, unusually, he had no idea why.

"What?" She said again, very impatiently.

"It's called a TARDIS."

"That's not even a proper word! You're just saying things!" She yelled again.

"I said Rose is sleeping. Quiet down a little." He held his finger up to her. She just looked confused and agitated. "Now, how did you get in here?"

"Well, obviously you kidnapped me." She rolled her eyes at the Doctor. "Who was it? Who's payin' ya? Was it Nerys? Oh my gosh, she finally got me! This has got Nerys written all over it!"

"Who the Hell is Nerys?" Asked the Doctor.

"You're best friend!" She pointed at him accusingly.

Although he had been staring at the woman for quite some time he had failed to soak in what he was looking at. "Hold on. Wait a minute. What are you dressed up like that for?"

"I'm going 10-pin bowling!" she said very sarcastically. "What do you think, _dumbo_?! I was halfway up the aisle! I waited al my life for this and I was just seconds away and you- drugged me or something!"

"I haven't done anything." The Doctor tried to reason with her but she, obviously, was not up for listening to him.

"I'll have the police on you! Me and my husband- as soon as he is my husband- are gonna sue the livin' backside off ya'!" She started to run to the- recently noticed by her- TARDIS doors.

Realizing what she was doing the Doctor shouted, "No! Wait! Don't!" But it was too late. She had opened the doors revealing a glistening world not too far away from them suspended in space; that was not Earth. There were plenty of stars far off in the distance and a beautiful scenery, that was space, shone on her. She just stood there ,trying to take it in.

The Doctor placed his hands inside the pockets of the pants of his pinstripe suit and walked over to her.

"You're in space..." He started to explain. "Outer space... This is my... spaceship. It's called the TARDIS."

She still was very surprised, but did her best to remain calm. "And how exactly am I breathing?"

"The TARDIS protects us." He looked out into space as well; his all familiar universe.

"WHO are you?" She asked, now much quieter since her bewilderment.

"I'm the Doctor; you?"

"Donna..." She gave a dignified nod kept looking out the doors.

"Human?" The Doctor asked; he had to make sure.

"Yeah. Is that optional?" Her voice had again become a little terse.

"It is for me."

"Alien?" She asked; she was not sure what else would shock her by this point.

"Yeah." He said, in a normal voice but with sorrow on the inside. An alien to the humans... He didn't like that. He didn't like being an alien to Rose.

"Is freezing with these doors open." She said as casually she could in a situation like this.

The Doctor was done pondering Rose and finally snapped back into himself.

"I don't understand this! And I understand everything." He said running back up to the console. "This cannot happen. A human being cannot lock itself onto the TARDIS an transport them self inside!"

He pulled out a small black magnifying glass-looking thing and began to look at her through it.

"Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field?..." He continued to do his techno babble but was interrupted by a-

*SLAP*

"What was that for?!" He rubbed his stinging cheek- reminding him of Jackie Tyler- and looked at her astonished and confused, more so than he already was.

"Get me to the church!" She demanded very loudly and vigorously.

"For goodness sakes Donna, hush!" He looked at her and shook his head. He thought of Rose sleeping in her room. His lovely Rose. He had her, his companion. He didn't _need_ Donna... "Fine, I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System!" She yelled looking around the TARDIS until she saw something that caught her attention. It was a purple girls shirt hanging over some railing. She picked it up and waved the air. "I knew it! Actin' all innocent! I'm not the first! How man women have you abducted?!"

"That's my friends, Roses, and if you don't hush up then you- ahh, too late. Here she is."

Rose stumbled up to them, looking rather tired. Donna had woken her up from her room with all the screaming and Rose was very confused as to what was happening.

"Was' goin' on?" She mumbled as she looked from the Doctor, to Donna, and then back to the Doctor.

"We have a new passenger..." The Doctor pointed to Donna. "Don't ask me how she got on because I have no idea and I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Hello." Rose waved a small smile but was still confused. "I'm Rose."

"So I have heard." Said Donna. She looked Rose up and down. "What about you? Are you like him? Alien or whatever?"

"Ha, no." Rose smiled. She changed her attention to the Doctor."You just met her and you're already talking 'bout me?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck and gave a small smile to the ground.

"Yeah, but no." She looked back at Donna, reassuring her."Completely human."

"We'll I dunno about completely..." Began the Doctor thinking about Bad Wolf.

"Watchya mean, Doctor?" She asked, puzzled.

"Ah, we'll discuss it later." He wasn't sure how much exactly this Donna should hear. It was going to be a delicate subject to speak about and it looked like Rose hadn't exactly realized what had happened. But there was something crazy happening and, even though it was manageable, he wanted to settle on one mystery at time. He didn't want to juggle this around in his large mind when it came to Rose's safety. Rose just nodded and he started working the console.

"Right, Chiswick!"

**Sorry if it's a tad short! I have been rather busy... It might not be that original yet but that is because these things had to happen. Rose gets more involved soon, so don't worry if that's what you are looking for ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

Runaway Bride- Christmas

Donna stepped out of the TARDIS hoping she would be able to make it to Saint Mary's in time for her wedding but found herself somewhere else in London. She looked around, angrily and anxiously, wishing that the stone buildings and dumpsters in the surrounding alleyway were that of Hayden Road and not wherever she was.

"I said Saint Mary's! What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?!" She looked around distressed.

Rose laughed because she had called him a Martian but that emotion quickly changed to concern when she saw the way the Doctor was looking at the TARDIS. He put a hand up to her and brushed the wooden frame.

"Something's wrong with her." He ran back inside the TARDIS.

"What is it, Doctor?" Rose asked him, troubled, as an image of a broken time machine crawled into her thoughts.

"I don't know…It's like she's…" He jumped up and down a little and ran back inside. "Recalibrating!"

Rose followed him through the doorway and he started touching the console very fervently, stroking it.

That made Rose smile and she asked him "What does that mean?"

"She's digesting…What have you eaten? What's wrong?" He continued to mess with the console and Rose stepped outside.

Donna had begun to notice the very surprising fact about the TARDIS. Most people had seen it on the outside before the inside but it was opposite for her. She started to make her way around the TARDIS, touching the blue wood to make sure it wasn't just some sort of apparition.

"Yeah…" Smiled Rose. "It's bigger on the inside."

Donna looked at her crazily, like she was about to lose it. Rose had to give her props. Donna was handling it pretty well for her just meeting and alien and on her wedding day.

"Donna!" the Doctor called from inside the TARDIS. "Is there anything that might of caused this? Anything you might have done? Any sort of alien contact? 'Cause I can't let you go wandering off. What if you're dangerous? I mean- have you seen lights in the sky or… Did you touch something? Who are you getting married to? Sure he's human?" He continued to babble and Donna peered her head again into the TARDIS for reassurance that was wasn't going mental, or rather, that she was.

"He's not a bit overweight with a zipper 'round his forehead is he?" he asked, somewhat seriously but Rose just laughed when she thought about the old memories of the Slitheen and the 9th Doctor.

"What?..." Donna asked with her hands cupped over her mouth.

"I know it's a lot to take in…" She looked inside the TARDIS to the Doctor. "But its bloody brilliant and-"

When she faced around she realized that Donna had started to walk away. It must have finally been too much for her and she needed to just leave it all behind, the sooner the better.

"Doctor!" Rose called out to him. "She's leaving."

He ran out of the TARDIS yelling "Donna!" and he caught up to her and Rose followed to the left of him.

"Leave me alone. I just want to get married!" she said, very tired of what was happening. No matter how fascinating it could be she didn't have time or the patience to deal with this when something much more important to her was going on.

"Come back to the TARDIS." He pleaded.

"No way! That box is too… weird." She continued her fast pace out of there.

"It's bigger on the inside, that's all."

Rose thought of the Doctors statement just now and thought it was a large lie. That was not all it was. The TARDIS was much more. The TARDIS was a time machine, a beautiful relic that could do-in what was her honest opinion- anything. It had taken her on many adventures with the Doctor and was presently her home. Speaking of which, she thought probably should gather her stuff from her flat. And her mother's as well…

Her thoughts had trailed off and she realized she was a couple paces behind them and ran a little to catch up.

"Why don't you phone them and tell them where you are?" he suggested.

"How would I do that?" asked Donna.

"Haven't you got a mobile?" he asked her, completely oblivious to the obvious.

She looked at him like he was stupid, although she had been giving him looks like then since she arrived.

"I'm in my wedding dress! It doesn't have pockets! Who has pockets?"  
The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. Oh right…

"Have you ever seen a bride with pockets?" she questioned. "When I went to my fittin' at Chez Alison the one thing I forgot to say was, 'give me pockets'!"

The Doctor stumbled for a bit, "This man you're marrying, what's his name?"

Her personality changed and she smiled when she said, "Lance."

"Good luck, Lance…"

"Oi! No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married!" she raised her finger at him. "To Hell, with you!"

"I'm not from Mars…" he shook his head.

"Here" Said Rose handing Donna her mobile. "You can use mine."

Donna grabbed her phone and looked at the number dial pad. She just handed it back furiously.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, I don't know their numbers!" She ran away towards the street and called,

"Taxi!"

They spent another couple minutes trying to flag down a taxi. Rose felt especially bad for Donna because this was, after all, her wedding day and she looked pretty ridiculous running around in her wedding gown.  
None of the Taxi's would stop and this was just making an, already agitated Donna, angrier and feeling defeated.

"Why aren't they stopping?" The Doctor asked.

"They think I'm in fancy dress." She said as a driver yelled at her to stay off the scotch. "Oh, they think I'm drunk!"

A pair of boys shouted from their car, "You're fooling no one, mate!"

"They think I'm in drag!"

The Doctor whistled loudly and it made Donna and Rose cover their ears. Rose didn't know he could do that. But then again, she had learned something about the Doctor every day.

A Taxi finally pulled over and they all piled into the back. It wasn't long until they realized they didn't have any money to pay for a cab. They were kicked out; Donna rather ungratefully as she yelled some profane words at the driver.

"And that goes double for your mother!' she screamed as the taxi drove away. "Talk about the Christmas spirit!"

"Is it Christmas?" The Doctor asked, looking around.  
Rose hadn't noticed either because they had been so darn busy running. Ha, running. Rose loved running with the Doctor.

"Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas eve!"

Rose looked at the Doctor, smiling with her tongue on her teeth. "Remember last Christmas?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "The Sycorax. New me. My hand got cut off."

He wiggled his fingers and then grabbed Rose's hand. They had been too busy thinking about old memories that they didn't notice Donna running off. She was begging a woman for money so that they could pay for a cab.

"Please miss. I'll pay you back. I'm getting married!" The woman handed her a tenner.

Rose tugged on his arm and pointed, "Doctor, look!"

Not too far from them were some Santa's playing brass instruments. They were the same Santa's as last year and Rose was not happy to see them. Blimey, how they brought back memories. They were walking, somewhat, towards them - though, it wouldn't have looked it to the common passerby- rather menacingly. Rose and the Doctor looked at each other with worry.

"What does this mean?" Rose asked. "They're back?"

"Well…" said the Doctor. "I don't think they ever left."

It took them a while to notice that see Donna pulled up a cab and opened the door.

"Thanks for nothing, spaceman! I'll see you in court!" and she hopped inside the taxi.

The car turned and he saw that the driver was also a Santa. He had no idea what the Santas wanted with Donna but he knew it wasn't going to be good. The Santas were slowly walking closer and lowering they're brass instruments. The Doctor noticed and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He walked up an ATM and sonic'd it. Not long after cash was spouting from it and raining everywhere. The civilians stopped and cheered to pick up stray money.

"How are we going to get Donna? Is the TARDIS felling better yet?" Rose asked.

"Probably not... But i don't think we have much of a choice." he grabbed her hand and they ran back to the TARDIS.

In side the taxi Donna was trying to freshen up because wanted to look better at her wedding. After all she had just been running around and been emotionally distressed. She talking to this to that driver who seem to be in an apparent what she was saying. She didn't really like the unsociable type.

"Hurry up!" She yelled but he gave no response.

Suddenly she realized there was something shady about this driver. He wasn't going the right way!

"I said Chiswick! You missed the turn off back there!"

The driver said nothing. "You are going the wrong way!"

The doctor ran inside the TARDIS with Rose at his side. He began working on the console again.

"Are you ready to fly, Rose?"

"We ride in the TARDIS all the time." Rose said confused.

"Yeah well for a spaceship... it doesn't do that much flying." he held down a leaver and they were off.

Inside the taxi Donna was becoming impatient.

"Oi!" She scooted forward and attempted to be rude by pulling down his hood. Instead she saw a metal head that belonged to some sort of robot. "Oh my gosh!"

She turned around and started banging on the windows, screaming.

"Help me! I'm being driven by a robot!" She yelled.

The Doctor and Rose were in hot pursuit on the motorway after Donna's taxi. The TARDIS was definitely wasn't ready for use. Sparks were flying and the Doctor his the console with a hammer and it chimed a small *ding*! He drove very awkwardly and fellow drivers weren't sure what to make of it. He had Rose hold a leaver while he walked towards the doors. They pulled up next to Donna's car.

"Open the door!" He yelled, hanging tightly to the TARDIS.

Donna didn't seem like a woman who enjoyed listening compared to asking questions; as far as the Doctor could tell. He sonic'd the window, in an attempt at the door, but the TARDIS was rather wobbly.

She opened the window and screamed. "Santa is a robot!"

"Open your door!" He yelled again.

"I can't its locked!"

The taxi sped up and the Doctor yelled to Rose, "Now!"

The TARDIS caught up next to it. He sonic'd the door and it unlocked. " Listen to me, you've got to jump!"

" I'm not jumping on a motorway!"  
"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now come on!" he said.

"I'm in my wedding dress!"

"Yes, you look lovely. Now come on!"

"I can't!" She yelled.

"Trust me!" he held out his hand.

Donna decided to- literally- take a leap of faith and trust the Doctor. She jumped and they stumbled into the TARDIS. Rose came over and helped the Doctor up.

"You okay?" she asked them.

"Oh, just brilliant!" said Donna.

The Doctor looked at Rose. "I'm fantastic."

She smiled and gave him a quick hug.  
The TARDIS flew and landed on the roof of a building. Donna looked out onto the city over the edge and the Doctor used a fire extinguisher to put out small fires started from the sparks in the TARDIS.

"Looks like she'll be fine in a couple of hours…" The Doctor said. "You guys alright?"

"Yeah." Smiled Rose.

"It doesn't matter…" Muttered Donna. "We missed my wedding anyways."

" You could just pick another day." Suggested Rose.

"And you still have the honeymoon." Said the Doctor.

"Ah. It's just a holiday now." Replied Donna, with sorrow in her voice.

"Sorry." He tried.

"It's not your fault." She shrugged.

"Oh. That's a change." He smiled.

"I wish you had a Time Machine so we could go back and get it right!"

Rose was laughing and the doctor just nodded and said, "Oh… yeah. Besides, we can't go back on some one's personal timeline."

The Doctor placed jacket on a shivering Donna. Rose silently wished that was her for a second but retracted those thoughts when she saw the lingering sadness on Donnas face.

"You're so skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat!" Donna complained, comically.

_Yup_. Thought Rose._ He's slim, and a little bit foxy_.

"Oh, you better put this on." he pulled a ring out of his pocket.

"You don't have to rub it in." Said Donna.

"Those creatures can trace you and this is a biodamper. Should keep you hidden." He handed it to her and she put it on and looked at it, wishing, instead that she was looking at her wedding ring at her own wedding.

"So come one then- Roba Santas. What are they for?" Questioned Donna.

"We saw them last year." He looked at Rose. "They're your basic roboscavenger. The father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in."

"What happened last Christmas?" she asked.

"Great big spaceship? Hovering over London?" he asked.

"You didn't notice?" asked Rose.

"I had a bit of a hangover." She shrugged.

He shook his head a little and pointed somewhere. "We had Christmas right over there in the Powell Estates. Didn't we Rose?"

"Yeah… It was nice. All the family. Mickey and Mum…" She choked a little when she said that and the Doctor put a comforting arm around her.

He realized that Christmas dinner scenario would never be able to happen again. He hadn't thought much about Rose leaving her family for him since the actual moment she did. He had been very busy with the recent events unfolding. He still needed to talk to her about Bad Wolf.

"Question is," he said turning to face Donna. "What do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary." She replied.

He took the sonic out of his the pocket of his coat on her and started scanning her up and down. "Weird. I mean, you're not special. You're not powerful. You're not connected. You're not clever. You're not important."

Rose elbowed him in the ribs and whispered. "Don't say that!"

"Oh right." He mumbled and continued to scan her with the sonic.

"Stop bleeping me!" she knocked it away.

"What kind of secretary?" asked Rose.

"I'm at H. C. Clements." She sighed.

"That's where I met Lance." A grin formed on her face and her attitude changed drastically when she started to speak of him.

"I was temping. I mean, it was all a bit posh, really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought, I was never going to fit in here and then he made me a cup of coffee. I mean, that doesn't just happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance- he's head of HR. He don't need to bother with me. I mean he was nice. He was funny. of course he thought everyone else is a bit snotty too... So that's how I met him. One cup of coffee; that was six months ago."

"Pretty soon to get married" said the Doctor.

"Well he insisted. He nagged and he nagged and he nagged and finally I just decided to give in. He just wore me down."

"Right." Said the Doctor with a tone than made it sound otherwise.

"So what does HC Clements do?" Asked Rose.

"Ah. You know, security systems, ID cards and stuff like that. If you ask me it's just a fancy name for locksmith."

"Keys..." Pondered the Doctor.

"Anyway, enough of my CV, come on it's time to face the consequences of this. It is going to be so shaming. I should just have you explain Martian boy. "

"Yeah... I'm not from Mars." he finally got it to her.

She nodded in response. "And i had this great big reception all planned as they're gonna be all heartbroken."

They got back into the TARDIS and went to go see what was left from Donna's wedding.

...

It turned out there was a lot left from Donna's wedding. The reception was in full swing and they were all dancing to music.

"They had the reception without me?!" Donna screamed.

Soon people began to look at her and stopped dancing. The music stopped and the last to turn around was a dark man.

"They had the reception WITHOUT me!" Donna looked at Rose and the Doctor.

"Yeah, I gathered." He said. "I am the Doctor, and this is Rose."

His attempt to lower the tension failed.

"Where have you been?" Asked the dark man that Rose and he Doctor assumed was Lance.

"You had the reception without me?" She asked again.

"We'll why not? Everything was already paid for!" Said a blonde skimpy woman.

"Thanks, Nerys!"she said very sarcastically.

"I got your message in the end," came forward her mother. "'I'm on earth' very funny but what the heck happened?! You vanished! How did you do it? I mean what's the-"

Suddenly, everyone was talking all at once asking her questions on what happened and how she did it. She began to sob and tears started forming an Lance came up to embrace her. She winked at the Doctor and Rose.

Later on the party was again in full swing and Donna was happily dancing with her fiancé. Rose and the Doctor had looked up some information about H. C. Clements using some Rose's phone and some helpful jiggery pokery. Apparently, they had worked with Torchwood and the Doctor was willing to bet there was still some shady business going on. Rose told him to investigate later and to just enjoy the reception for a bit. They stood near a refreshments table an then the music started to slow down to a soft tempo.

The Doctor held out his hand to Rose. "Rose Tyler, would fancy a dance?"

"I'd be delighted." She said and grabbed his hand.

They swung on to the dance floor, Rose in his arms. For a long time they were quiet and just let themselves hold each other. Rose liked the Doctor's hand on her hip. She wanted it to stay there for as long as possible. To her, the song shouldn't end. They could just remain there, smiling at each other, and she would be happy.

He wondered why his hand fit so perfectly with hers. And why he liked the smell- that he could only define as 'Rose'- of her so much. He wished he could be here with Rose forever as well, but he knew better. He shouldn't even ask Rose to dance in the first place. Silly little tricks like this only made his findness for her grow, and he couldn't have that... He couldn't love Rose. Someday, he would be without her. He tried not to think of it but it was inevitable. In the future, she would die, and he would continue to live. Bit he wasn't sure what kind of 'living' that would be without her. He thought about Bad Wolf.

"Rose..." He began.

"Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you." He said, concerned.

"Why? What is it?"

"What do you remember about almost getting sucked into the void?" He questioned.

"You know... I hadn't really thought about it. I don't even remember anything!" She was surprised at the words coming out her own mouth. "What does that mean, Doctor?"

"We'll..." He started to explain but he was interrupted by the voices of many people gasping at the red baubles that started to float off the Christmas trees.

**There are some things unsettled in this chapter but they'll come up soon. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

Runaway Bride- H.C. Clements

The Doctor, very regretfully, let go of Rose and his hand fell from her waist. They would continue their conversation about Bad Wolf later, when they had more time and there was less commotion. At the time, red baubles on the decorative Christmas trees among the outskirts of the reception were beginning to rise into the air. With much confusion and perplexity, the party guests marveled at the floating ornaments hanging evenly above them.

"What's happenin', Doctor?" asked Rose.

The Doctor just looked around, trying to sort out the answer, and he mumbled, "The bio-damper should be working just fine…"

Before the people had much time to take in and develop guesses as to what this was or was for, the dance floor became like that of a game of Battleship. The red balls began to launch themselves to the floor, creating small explosions with every collision. People screamed and ran while also taking large steps as to minimize possible damage to their feet. Tables were overturned and many people began to hide behind them. Donna had pulled Lance down behind one while the Doctor and taken Rose, by her hand, and brought her down with him beside a table that, at one point, held all the gifts. The Doctor peered his head over the table to take in the scene. Scattered about were small fires created by the tablecloths and the baubles mini combustions. There were only a couple ornaments left in the air and a couple people lying about on the floor. But as the baubles disappeared they were being replaced by robotic Kris Kringle's and their deadly brass instruments. They lined up into the robotic formation that they were and began to lower the musical weapons. Finally, his eyes gazed upon the DJ's sound system. He made his way, crawling, around the back of them and hopped up, taking the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.

"Oi, Santa!" he yelled, effectively, gaining their attention as they then proceeded to face him. "Word of advice: If you are attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near the sounds system. "

He stuck his sonic into the turn tables and a loud, obnoxious, pulsing sort-of noise was produced. All the people covered their ears trying to block out the menacing noise and the Doctor seemed completely unaffected. Rose couldn't help but smile at his Time Lord biology. It was weird how similar they seemed but different he actually was to her.

The Santas dropped their musical instruments and began to shake and tremble. Their metal Santa faces fell off of their real mechanical ones until, even those ones began to break off, revealing some of their inner workings and machinery. They fell to the floor, lifeless.

"You okay?" He helped Rose up.

"Yeah" She got up and hugged him. "But how did they know we were here?"

"Well…" he ran over and slid onto the ground next to the fallen robots and began examining them. He picked up a remote control one of the Santas had been holding at some point and one of their heads. "Remote control for the decorations, but there is a second control for the robots."

In the background Donna was helping up children and griping at a sputtering Lance, "Just stop wittering and try and help them!" She pointed to the frightened children.

Rose looked at the robotic head the Doctor held in his hand. He looked up the bottom of it and said, "They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone has taken possession."

"Never mind, all that!" said Donna. "You're a Doctor. People have been hurt."

"He's not that type of Doctor…" began Rose.

"Nah… They wanted you alive, look!" the Doctor threw Donna a red ball. "They're not active now."

"All the same, you could help." Donna argued.

"Got to think of the bigger picture." He said, putting his ear to the metal head, hearing a faint beeping. "There's still a signal!"

He grabbed Roses hand and they ran outside. He held up his sonic screwdriver to the head.

"There is someone behind this, directing the Roboform." He told her.

Donna ran outside and joined them, shortly followed by Lance.

"But why is this happening to me?!" she looked at the both of them. "What have I done?"

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out." He got some readings from the sonic and held it up, above his head. "It's up there, something in the sky."

After a few good minutes of pointing Donna went to go talk back with Lance. He was freaking out and Donna really just wanted him to calm down, he could be a real wimp sometimes. The Doctor lowered his sonic and ran over to them.

"I've lost the signal! We have got to get back to your office, H.C. Clements. I think that is where it all started. But first, Donna what happened when you disappeared."

"I dunno…" she said, trying to remember. "I was all glowy-like and I was screaming-"

Before she could finish trying to explain the Doctor said, "Did you have a camera man?"

"Well, yeah! I wanted to capture my wedding on tape!" She said but didn't finish before the Doctor and Rose had disappeared back inside.

Donna's mother came out and was looking frustrated. After walking up to her daughter she asked her "Who is that man?"

Donna didn't really want to answer, but then again she didn't really know the answer. She knew he was an alien, but she wasn't going to tell her mother that. She knew that he was called 'the Doctor' and that he had some sort of space ship… but other than that this man was a complete stranger. Yet she trusted him; he had saved her life in a couple ways, but she wasn't even sure why or for what reason he was even a part of her life, compared to only a few hours ago when she was getting ready to walk down the aisle. For all these reasons, Donna didn't answer; she instead grabbed Lance's hand and dragged him beside her into the building after the Doctor and Rose.

They had found the camera recorder tipped over on the dance floor. The Doctor had put on his glasses and began looking for the scene when Donna would have disappeared. They played it back and hovered around to watch.

Donna was walking down the aisle and had suddenly started to glow. Her body was disapparating into the TARDIS, particle by particle. _Particle._

The Doctor rewound it so he would have another look, just to be sure… The Doctor looked at Rose, with much worry in his eyes and then, at Donna.

"What is it?!" Donna asked, annoyed.

"Huon particles!" He looked at the both of them. "That's impossible… That's ancient. Huon energy shouldn't exist anymore, not for billions of years. The only remnants are in the TARDIS. Yet…"

Rose looked at him confused. "What?"

"They are in both of you." He told them.

"Both of us?" Asked Donna. "What does that even mean?!"

"Well…" He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Rose, you were saved before you were sucked into the void. Bad Wolf saved you somehow; you were glowing gold, just like last time you were Bad Wolf. It was huon energy and huon energy should only exist within the heart of the TARDIS, it hasn't existed since the Dark Times, but you have some still in you somehow! I should have taken all of it out; I thought I did!"

"So, does that mean I still have bits of the TARDIS in me?" she asked. "Is that bad? Can Bad Wolf kill me?"

"Well... I don't really know." He said, "It's never been done before by a human. It can be dangerous. It almost killed you last time! But none of this explains why it is in you!"

He pointed at Donna.

"This ain't my fault!" She threw her hands in the air. "I have no idea what any of this mumbo jumbo is!"

"Well that explains why the Santas were able to find you." He held out his hand to Donna. "It is old energy, so old, that it can't be hidden by a biodamper."

Donna took off the ring and placed it him his hand. He shoved it into his pocket.

"Lance- is it Lance?" he turned to face Lance, who still had a look of confusion on his face. "Lance can you give us a lift?"

"Yeah, sure I suppose." He mumbled.

…

After a long and tad bit awkward ride in Lance's car they got to H.C. Clements. It was Christmas Eve so nobody was working there and they just looked silly, parading around in their wedding clothes, with the Doctor and Rose. It was a moderately large building suited up with Christmas decorations which Rose was a bit tired of seeing by then. They arrived on the third floor in the elevator and made their way over to some computers.

"To you lot, this might just be a locksmiths but H.C. Clements was bought up twenty-three years ago by the Torchwood institute." He started messing with a computer with Rose looking over his shoulder.

"Who are they?" asked Donna.

"They were behind the Battle of Canary Warf." Rose told them as the Doctor kept clicking.

Donna looked puzzled and Rose said. "Cyberman invasion."

She shook her head and this time the Doctor looked up and asked. "Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"They were the flying metal things." Rose tried explaining.

"I was in Spain." She nodded thinking it was a good enough reason.

"There had Cyberman in Spain…" he said.

"Scuba diving." She said, as if it made things simpler.

"That big picture Donna you keep on missing it…" He left the computer. It was worthless so he left to try another one. "Torchwood institute was destroyed, but H.C. Clements stayed in business and I think someone else came in and took over operation."

The computers were still proving to be absolutely worthless, so he banged his fist on it the monitor. Rose wondered why he did that, to the TARDIS even; she didn't think it could actually help. He continued to type.

"But what do they want with me?" asked Donna. "I still have no idea what you're on about!"

"Well…" he looked around and picked up a pencil and a mug of a person's desk. "Say that's the TARDIS and that's you. The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetized and, whap!"

He put the pencil in the mug. "You were pulled inside the TARDIS. Rose was already in the TARDIS so she didn't need to be pulled into it."

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" she looked at him, offended as he twirled the pencil around in the mug.

"Yes, you are. 4-H. Sums you up." He put it down and ran to another computer. "Lance, what was H.C. Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

He sonic'd a computer and began searching it.

"I don't know. I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager." He looked around angrily. "Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

"They make keys. That's the point. And look at this." Everyone huddled around the computer screen the Doctor was at. There was a picture of the layout of the building on some sort of 3-d modeling program. "We're underneath the third floor. There's a basement underneath reception, yes?"

"Yeah." Said Donna, looking at the screen.

He ran over to the lift and everyone followed. He clicked the down button and jumped inside. "Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? There is a whole floor that doesn't exist in the initial plans."

"Are you telling me this building has a secret floor?" asked Lance.

"No, I'm _showing _you this building has got a secret floor."

"It needs a key." said Donna.

"I don't." he sonic'd the lift and then pulled Rose inside. "Right, then. Thanks you two. We can handle this. See you later."

"No chance, Martian!" said Donna as she stepped into the lift. "You're the man who keeps saving my life. I ain't lettin' you out of my sight."

"Going down." said the Doctor.

"Lance!" yelled Donna.

"Maybe I should go to the police." Said Lance, shuffling his feet.

"INSIDE." She rolled her eyes.

"To honor and obey." Said the Doctor and Rose hit him on the shoulder.

"Tell me about it mate." Mumbled Lance.

"Oi!" Donna said as the doors closed and they went down into the hidden basement of H.C. Clements.

They arrived in a damp, dark hallway with some eerie green lighting. They all stepped out looked around trying to make some sense of the mystery place.

"What goes on down here?" asked Donna.

"Looks like we'll find out…" the Doctor looked around and grabbed Rose hand.

"You think Mr. Clements knows about this place? Donna questioned.

"He's probably a part of it." Said Rose.

"And I think you're right." He smiled at her but his gaze moved to somewhere else down the hallway. "Oh look- transport!"

Next thing they knew they were all on their own each individual Segway going down the green lighted hallway. Before they could help themselves, forgetting the fact of the gravity of the situation they all looked at each other and laughed. They tried, and failed, to be dignified and Donna almost fell off her Segway, laughing. Lance just awkwardly clung on to his, trying his best not to look like an idiot.

They rode until they found a large door with a sign that said 'TORCHWOOD. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.' They each parked their Segway and the Doctor turned the large handle and walked inside. There was a ladder that was also damp and a little rusty.

"Wait here!" he said and then pointed his finger at them. " And DON'T go anywhere or do anything."

"Wait up!" said Rose following him in.

"You better come back, you two!" she yelled.

"Don't worry." said the Doctor. "Couldn't get rid of you if we tried."

"We'll be back soon." said Rose, following him up.

Climbing the ladder reminded Rose of the New New Earth visit and her climb up the ladder in the Hospital. Rose liked thinking about that day. She had kissed the Doctor, well… it wasn't really her and she didn't really remember it all too well, but she knew it had happened. She knew that even if the Doctor knew she liked him _that_ way, he wouldn't protest, -or at least- he hadn't at the time. He would let her stay with him. For as long as that would last…

Far beneath Rose were Lance and Donna.

"Donna… Have you thought about this?" asked Lance. "Properly? I mean this is serious!"

"Oh." Said Donna smiling. "I was thinking July."

Donna was oblivious to what Lance meant. She thought he was talking about the fact that they hadn't gotten officially married, not about the hidden basement or secret H.C. Clements. But then again, Donna could be oblivious to a lot of things so Lance let it go.

Up top, the Doctor found another latch and opened it. They were standing on top of a part of the Thames Flood Barrier. They climbed back down and saw Lance and Donna still standing where they left them, thankfully.

"Thames Flood Barrier!" said the Doctor, wiping the dampness of his hands on his trousers. "Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."

"What, there's like a secret base underneath a major London landmark?" asked a surprised Donna.

"You'd be surprised." Said Rose and the Doctor smiled at her.

After some more exploring they found another door with the honeycomb-shaped Torchwood logo. Inside were a ton of lab equipment and funny shaped machinery. The Doctor was fascinated and Rose just felt like a sitting duck, wondering what everything was.

"What does it do?" asked Donna.

"Particle extrusion..." He ran over to a tube with some sort of floating liquid bubbling inside and tapped on the glass. "They're manufacturing huon particles. Of course, my people got rid of them. They unraveled the atomic structure. "

"Your people?" asked Lance. "What company do you represent."

"Ahh…" sighed the Doctor.

"We're sort of freelancers. " smiled Rose.

"This lot is rebuilding them." said the Doctor, examining some more machinery. "They have been using the River! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base 'till they got the result which is huon particles in liquid form."

"And that's what's inside me?" asked Donna.

The doctor picked up a vile of the liquid and turned a small handle of it. It started to glow and then so did Rose and Donna.

"Oh my gosh!" Donna looked at her body glowing.

"Genius," The Doctor nodded. "because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyze inside and that's you."

Donna looked up and down her body very bewildered.

"Saturate the body and then... HA!" he shouted and Donna jumped as he bounced with excitement. "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine! Wham go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point - SHAZAM!"

*SMACK* went Donna's hand the Doctor turned to face her, very surprised.

"What did I do this time?" he begged.

"Are you enjoying this?" Donna asked, angrily as Rose giggled. "Right, just tell me. These particle- are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

"Well…" he rubbed the back of his head. "Not really, no. Huon particles can be.. . very…"

"What?!" she said, fed up.

"Deadly." He said and Donna began to freak out. "Don't worry Donna! I'll sort it out. Whatever has been done to you, ill reverse it!"

"And what about Rose, eh?" she pointed.

"Well it's my own fault really…" said Rose. "Nothing really he could do about it."

"But-" began Donna but was interrupted by a loud obnoxious sound that could be heard in the room like as if by a large speaker.

"Oh, he won't be able to save you either!" hissed the voice and the wall next to them began to rise revealing a hidden, dark, wet room with a large hole in the center. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe."

The wall continued to rise and the voice hissed, "Until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken."

There were several Roboforms surrounding them on the walls holding guns. The Doctor was too busy grabbing onto Rose and trying to find the source of the voice while Donna was too busy being amazed at what was happening, that they didn't notice Lance slip out of the room and back into the hallways that were the underground of H.C. Clements.


	5. Chapter 5

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

Runaway Bride- Widow

In the wall had risen to its final resting point and they staggered into the room. The Roboforms lined the walls and pointed the guns at them in formation. In the middle of the damp, dark room was a large hole looking very black in the middle. The ceiling was covered in spider webs, much more than could possibly be done by spiders alone.

"Well, that'll be some creepy alien work." Said Rose, pointing to the ceiling.

The Doctor looked up at it, puzzled, racking his brain for what type of life form could have created it. He walked up towards the hole and Rose tugged on his shoulder as a reminder for him to be careful.

"Someone's been digging," he mused, looking over the edge of the hole. "Oh – very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?"

"Down and down. All the way to the centre of the Earth!" said the raspy voice.

"Really?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, what could Torchwood need at the middle of the earth? "Seriously? What for?"

"Dinosaurs," Donna said, trying to take a gamble at something outrageous.

"What?" he looked at her.

"Dinosaurs?" she said, raising her voice, wishing she never said it.

"What are you on about? Dinosaurs?" She tried explain her reasoning.

"That film , 'Under the Earth', with dinosaurs… " she nodded. "Trying to help!"

"That's not helping," he told her, shaking his head.

"Well, then, there is something alien down there, isn't there?" Rose said pointing to the hole and still grabbing the Doctor's arm.

"Well…" he mused. "Probably."

"Such a sweet couple." the voice hissed, making a now slightly embarrassed Rose let go of the Doctor.

"Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad," he said, placing his hands in his pockets while pacing a few steps around. "Where are you?"

"High in the sky!" it yelled, "Floating so high on Christmas night."

They looked to the ceiling at the large web again, Donna very scared about what existed there, Rose figuring it what it meant was space and the Doctor getting slightly frustrated as the same time as curious.

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let's have a look at you!" he yelled to the ceiling.

"Who are you with such command?" they heard the voice echo about them.

"I'm the Doctor." He said, quite dignified and Rose smiled.

"Prepare your best medicines, Doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart!" the voice yelled.

In a corner of the room a appeared a large of light and the alien had come into the room directly from its ship. It was a large arachnid-looking creature with eight legs and a huge red abdomen but the front, where the head was usually to be located on a spider was the torso of a humanoid, arms of giant claws and a pointy head with several eyes. She was very red, gross and angry, hissing at them all while shifting it's many legs.

"Racnoss," the Doctor exclaimed in disbelief. "But that's impossible, you're one of the Racnoss!"

"What exactly are you then?" asked Rose, in wonderment at this newr breed of alien.

"Empress of the Racnoss!" she hissed at her, both correcting the Doctors statement and not really answering Roses question.

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss?" He asked stepping closer. "Or… are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind," the Empress said, hissing some more.

"That's it the last of your kind…The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago; billions. They were carnivores; omnivores! They devoured whole planets."

Rose thought about what that meant. She was the last of her kind… And so was the Doctor. She was alone in the world, and she wasn't very humble about her ways. The Doctor was truly special. He was different than other aliens who sought revenge over their forgotten race, but then again, the Doctor was a reason why there were no more Timelords anymore. The burden he had to carry was big, and Rose was happy to help relieve it from his shoulders. Rose didn't have much more time to think about her Doctor when the Empress hissed again.

"The Racnoss are born starving," she defended herself. "Is that our fault?"

"They eat people?" Donna asked, astonished and a little bit disgusted.

The Doctor didn't answer her question and simply went straight to asking,"H. C. Clements, did he wear those - those erm, black and white shoes?"

"He did! We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats. One time Lance-" she looked around but didn't see her fiancé anywhere, "Where is Lance?!"

"Hmm." The Doctor raised his eyebrows and looked around.

"Coward." Rose muttered.

"So, black and white shoes?" he asked Donna again.

"Yeah." She nodded.

The Doctor pointed to the ceiling and Donnas gaze followed shortly. In the enormous web were the same black and white shoes, hanging without life still attached to the dead H.C. Clements feet. Rose gasped and Donna cried out, "Oh my gosh!"

"My Christmas dinner!" the Racnoss taunted her, flaring her mouth with jagged pointy teeth up and down.

"You shouldn't even exist!" The Doctor said, a little rudely, but wasn't in the wrong to be. "Way back in history the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss; they were wiped out."

"Except for me." She screeched.

Not far behind the empress was a creeping Lance, slowly making his way off a platform to reach the Racnoss, axe in hand. Rose, not expecting Lance to come back for her figuring he was a coward, looked at him at the same time as Donna and he raised his finger to his lips. They quickly changed their gaze so the Empress wouldn't notice.

"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing," Donna said, getting the Empresses attention to her.

"Oi!" Donna cried when the Empress turned her head. "Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."

"The bride is so feisty!" The Racnoss complained but entertained.

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big... _thing_! But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe!" She yelled and then looked at Lance. "Now, do it!"

Lance swung the axe behind his head to strike but stopped so that it lay near his shoulder, no danger to the empress being represented. The Racnoss spun around and looked at him. Lance smiled and then started to laugh, lowering his weapon. The empress laughed with him, manically.

Donnas complexion went from tense to perplexed and her eyes began to droop.

"That was a good one," lance laughed pointing at the Empress. "Your face!"

"Lance is funny," the Empress said, making it known to them, or at least the Doctor and Rose, that it was not accident Lance didn't finish the fatal swing.

"What?" Donna said confused, still unaware.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor whispered and looked at her with empathy Donna didn't realize.

"Sorry for what?" she said, practically denying herself any explanation as to what was happening "Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!"

"God, she's thick!" Lance looked at her, the red light in the room reflecting on his bald head slowly making it more evil looking to their eyes and he continued condemning her, "Months I had to put up with her; months! A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

Rose was hating this and the Doctor just had to sit quiet and let this turn of events unfold so Donna could see the terrible truth that was looking her in the face.

"I don't understand," Donna said, numbness, in her voice.

"How did you meet him?" the Doctor asked Donna, to help put two and two together.

"In the office…"she said, still denying herself impossible truth.

Rose looked at her tenderly, "And he made you coffee."

"What?" she blinked at her.

"Every day, I made you coffee," Lance repeated, harshness in his voice.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months," the Doctor said, brushing the subject softly.

"He was poisoning me." It dawned on Donna. All those moments she had known him were lies, lies that she didn't have time to go through her head right now. Lies she didn't really want to remember anyways at the moment. She needed more explanation but didn't want it. She already felt daft and the more this would press on the stupider she would feel.

"It was all there in the job title - the Head of Human Resources." The Doctor said.

"This time it's personnel," Lance joked followed by a snicker from the Racnoss.

"But… we were getting married," a hurt Donna whimpered.

"Well, I couldn't risk you running off," he told her. "I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle!Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap, yap, yap – 'oh, Brad and Angelina - is Posh pregnant?' X-Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat,_ stupid_ trivia! I deserve a medal!"

Donna stood there silently, taking in the cutting words and Rose put an arm on her to try and give some sense of comfort to Donnas crumbling life.

"Oh, is that what she's offered you?" the Doctor asked. "The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?"

"It's better than a night with her," pointing to Donna.

"But I love you," Donna said pitiably.

"That's what made it so easy," he sniggered, truly with no remorse. "It's like you said, Doctor - the big I was working in the city. Every day I was climbing that ladder. – Then it happened. Your Cybermen, your Daleks in the sky. Everything I've spent my life doing just seemed so small. What's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to... go out there. To see it, the size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?"

"Who is this little physician?" The Empress asked and hissed.

"She" Lance said, meaning Donna. "said Martian."

"Oh, I'm sort of... homeless," The Doctor said brushing it away and even though Rose was sure that the TARDIS was perfect place to live she knew what he meant; he had nowhere he belonged. "But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

"I think he wants us to talk," Lance said, mocking him.

"I think so, too." hissed the Empress.

"Well tough," Lance said. "All we need is Donna!"

"Kill this chattering little Doctor-man!" the Empress demanded.

The words 'kill' and 'Doctor' in the same sentence seemed to set Rose off and she grabbed his arm and yelled, "Don't you dare hurt him!"

"Don't! I won't let you!" Donna yelled.

"Rid of the other vermin as well! No need for the Doctor or the girl! At arms!"

Every Roboform, they had almost forgotten about them due to their being so busy conversing and all, raised their gun and pointed.

"Ah, now except-" the Doctor blabbed, because usually that helped.

"Take aim!" she raised he own claws, triumphant.

"Well, I just want to point out the obvious-"

"They won't hit the bride." She taunted. "They're such very good shots."

"Just- just- just- hold on, just a tick, just a tiny- just a little- tick," he stuttered some, trying to figure out his words before he spoke them. "If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it and the spaceship comes to her."

He took bottle of huon particles in liquid form out of his pocket and opened it. He twisted the knob and both Donna and Rose began to glow. The Doctor forgot about Roses huon energy that and stood in front of her trying to make it so the Racnoss wouldn't see. But it was too late.

"What's this?!" the Empress mused. "The girl glows too?

Lance looked surprised, he didn't know that. This wasn't his doing.

The Empress was confused but smiled despite it. "The more the merrier. Don't shoot the girl, just the Doctor! Fire!"

But before the Roboforms had chance to be fatal, the TARDIS began to materialize around them. There they were surrounding the console and Rose smiled at her brilliant Doctor. She hugged him and he embraced her, glad to be out of the situation. However, they weren't done just yet. He let go of her and started to push buttons of the console.

"Off we go, then!" He said, sending them back in time. "Oh, you know what I said before about time machines?"

He turned to Donna and smiled a bit. Rose laughed and said, "He's a bit of a bother sometimes and what he means is that the TARDIS is actually a time machine. "

"And what are we doing exactly?" Asked Donna.

"Were going back in time." The Doctor said, impressively. "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must have been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto Bene! I've always wanted to see this! We're going further back than I've ever been before."

But Rose had stopped listening to the Doctor. She was holding Donna, who was shaking in her arms. Tears ran down her face and she wept, silently. The Doctor had a way to forget his sensitivities sometimes; he was rather used to his emotions being paralyzed for most situations, even though they had a habit of getting in the way. Rose didn't know what to say so she just held Donna in her arms and let her cry. Donnas heart was broken and Rose didn't know what a better way to comfort her was so they just stood silent for a while and the TARDIS went through the vortex.

"We've arrived," the Doctor told them quietly. "Want to see?"

"I suppose," Donna said because she felt there was nothing better to do.

"The scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best," he walked to the doors and whispered to them, "Come on… Welcome to the creation of the Earth."

They made their way over and the Doctor opened the doors revealing space. Outside chunks of rocks floated past around one another and clouds of dust colorfully painted a beautiful scene. Rose had seen some amazing things but this was by far the most stunning. There was the black hole even but that was more impressively frightening than the natural beauty that was the begging of Earth.

"No human's ever seen this," the Doctor told them. "You'll be the first two."

"All I want to see is my bed," Donna said, upset.

"My gosh, it's spectacular!" Rose smiled.

"We've gone back four point six-billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas…"

"Well it's beautiful." Rose sighed and the Doctors eyes flickered to her at the word.

He grabbed her hand and pointed out into the scenery, "That's the Sun over there, brand new; just begging to burn!"

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked.

"All around us… In the dust," he said and they continued to stare.

"Puts the wedding in perspective," she said. "Lance was right. We're just… tiny"

"No, but that's what you do." He said nudging Donna on the shoulder. "The human race, making sense out of chaos; marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

"So we came out of all of this?" she asked, she smiled weakly.

"Isn't it brilliant?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rose smiled up at him. "Fantastic."

"I think that's the Isle of Wight," Donna pointed to a giant chunk of rock.

"Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get…" the Doctor explained, "The Earth…. But the question is; what was that first rock?"

Off in the distance an object floated in space rotating and looking rather pointy. It was ironic, this was Christmas after all and they were watching the earth be born with a star. Tons of other rocks began being pulled towards it forming a dense mass of other rock.

"The Racnoss…" he sighed. "Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth… they became the centre of the Earth; the first rock."

At that moment the Doctor ran back to the console and started turning a wheel. The TARDIS gave a shudder and Rose shut the front doors.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Trouble," he said trying to work the console but getting frustrated.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna asked.

"That little trick of mine – particles pulling particles. It works in reverse. They're pulling us back!" he explained.

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?" she said throwing her hands in the air.

"Oh! Wait a minute!" he pulled a large plate from somewhere underneath the console. "The extrapolator!"

Rose smiled thinking of the memories. The extrapolator! The Slitheen. Jack… it was all good fun.

"Well, it can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" He said and took a mallet in his hands. He hit the extrapolator and yelled, "Now!"

.

The TARDIS appeared in one of the underground hallways in the basement of H.C. Clements. The lighting in this one was blue and Rose wondered if that was for a reason.

"We're about 200 yards to the right. Come on!" The Doctor yelled, grabbing Roses hand and running.

The three of them continued down the hallway until they came to the door that led to the flood barrier. The Doctor pulled out a stethoscope and put it to the door.

"But what do we do?" Donna asked, panting from all the running they did.

"I don't know," he said, also out of breath. "I make it up as I go along! But trust me, I've got a history."

"That's basically right, always running… so unpredictable." Rose saw a disappointed look on the Doctors face. "Oh don't get me wrong, I love it!"

"But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles – but what for?" she asked.

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unraveled their power source. If Huon particles cease to exist, the Racnoss will stop," he explained.

The Doctor continued to ramble and he didn't realize that Donna had been taken by a Roboform who had placed his hand upon her mouth and dragged her away silently. Rose was busy looking at the door with the Doctor, tentatively listening to what he had to say. Rose turned around and shouted, "Doctor!"

He turned around and looked around to find that Donna had disappeared. He shouted out in anger and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to open the door. When he turned the large handle they found a Roboform, gun at the ready.

.

Back inside the room with the Empress, Donna and Lance hung side by side in the web of the ceiling. It was not only awkward for them both but also they feared for their lives. Donna noticed that the Empress turned on her servant for some reason, but she was happy. He got what he deserved.

"I hate you!" she let Lance know

"Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, Sweetheart," he replied sarcastically.

Below them the Empress hissed, "My golden couple! Together at last – your awful wedded life. Tell me; do you want to be released?"

The taunting was working and they were getting annoyed. "Yes!" They shouted in unison.

"You're supposed to say 'I do'!" she chortled.

"Ha, no chance," Lance laughed, despite the tense situation and the perspiration increasing on his nervous brow.

"Say it!" she commanded.

"I do," he said, rancorously.

"I do," Donna said regretfully. Not so long earlier she was looking forward to those words. Now she just hated the sound of them coming from her tongue.

"I don't! Activate the particles! Purge every last one" Donna and Lance began to glow with huon energy and she screamed, "Release!"

At that the huon particles went from their bodies and down into the hole in the ground. Donna wondered what was happening to Rose at the moment.

"The secret heat unlocked. And they will waken from their sleep of Ages!"

"Who will? What's down there?" Donna asked wondering what lay beneath the earth, thinking of the field trip from the TARDIS earlier.

"How thick are you?" Lance ridiculed.

"My children, the long lost Racnoss now will be born to feast on flesh! The web-star shall come to me!" she hissed manically. "And now, my babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

"Use her! Not me! Use her!" Lance cried out, fearful for his life.

"Oh, my funny little Lance! But you were quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve." She cackled.

And then the web around Lance began to loosen and failed to sustain him. He dropped, screaming into the dark hole.

"Lance!" Donna cried out, remnants of her mixed feelings showing.

"Harvest the humans. Reduce them to meat. My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them! …So you may as well unmask, my clever little Doctor-man." She yelled to a Roboform who was climbing the grating stairs.

It stopped and uncovered its cloak and mask. It was the Doctor and he sighed in defeat "Oh well. Nice try."

"I've got you, Donna!" the Doctor said pulling out the sonic screwdriver and pointing it to the web.

"I'm gonna fall!" she said, unsure what his plan was.

"You're going to swing!" he corrected.

"I've got ya," he encouraged as she began to fall and swing towards him. However, she missed and fell to the floor. "Oh, sorry…"

"Thanks for nothing," she said lying on the floor. "Where is Rose!?"

"In the TARDIS!" he yelled.

"The Doctor-man amuses me," the Empress hissed.

"Empress of the Racnoss," The Doctor addressed her, "I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

"These men are so funny." She taunted.

"What is your answer?" he yelled.

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline," she hissed at him.

"Then what happens next is your own doing." He raised his eyebrows.

"I'll show you what happens next," she screeched at the Roboforms lined against the walls. "At arms! Take aim! And-"

"Relax." the Doctor interrupted.

They all went limp and lowered their weapons, lifeless.

"What did you do?" Donna called up to him as they ran.

"Guess what I've got, Donna?" He said smiling, pulling something out a remote control. "Pockets!"

"How did that fit in there?" she asked, curios.

"They're bigger on the inside." He grinned.

"Roboforms are not necessary," the Empress said with hints of worry in her voice."My children will feast on the flesh of the Martian."

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars," he smirked.

"Then where?" she hissed.

"My home planet is far away and long-since gone." He raised his eyebrows. "But its name lives on. Gallifrey."

"They murdered the Racnoss!" she danced with her spider feet in anger.

"I warned you; you did this." He said pulling out some red baubles and releasing them into the air.

"No! No, don't!" the Empress screamed.

The baubles went about the flood barrier breaking walls and flooding the place. Some crashed in ranger of her legs and she was set aflame. The blue and green lit hallways were filling with water quickly. The water rushed into the room and began rush into the hole. Donna ran up the stairs and stood near him watching the events unfold.

"My children!" she moaned. "My children!"

It was a horrific scene and Donna didn't want to watch. The Doctor took out the bottle of huon energy and turned the knob. The TARDIS appearing along with its mechanic whooshing and Rose stepped out.

"C'mon!" The Doctor said, pushing Donna along. "Inside!"

"Hold on a second…" said Rose walking up to the railing and seeing the Racnoss scream with agony.

"Transport me!" she cried and the Empress was gone back into her ship.

.

The TARDIS materialized outside and they opened the doors to a scary scene. Tanks had come and were shooting at the Empress' star. It was going to explode; she was going to die in her ship.

"Do something!" said Rose, staring up at the sky. "Her children are dead! Doesn't have to be her too…"

"Rose," he said, grabbing her hand. "There's nothing I can do. She had used up all her huon energy, she is defenseless. She will survive the rest of her short-to-be-lived life in the universe alone."

And with that the remains of the ship exploded and the webs cascaded down the air in little strands while the star couldn't help but burn to nothing in the night sky. The scene slowly shifted from its solemnity and became peaceful when the sky began to clear.

"There's one problem." Donna began to snigger.

"What?" asked the Doctor and he looked over to where she was looking at.

The Thames was empty and there were boats sounding their horns, stranded in it.

"We've drained the Thames!" she laughed.

They all laughed at the sight and made their way back into the TARDIS.

"There we go," the Doctor said stepping out of the TARDIS into a street with pleasant looking houses. "Told you she'd be alright. She can survive anything."

"More than I've done," Donna said.

Taking out the sonic, and pointed it at Donna. "Well, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage. You're fine." He grinned, cheekily.

"Yeah, but apart from that… I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day… Sort of." She sighed.

"I couldn't save him…" said the Doctor, talking about Lance.

"I'm sorry, Donna." Said Rose.

"Nah, it's okay." She sighed. "He deserved it.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and her face fell.

"Ah, no he didn't…" she muttered. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have, "he said, gesturing towards her parents in the window. "Oh, no, I forgot, you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do." She nodded. "Now all the more reason to."

"Even if it snows?" he said taking out his sonic and pointing it at the TARDIS.

A shot of firework launched itself from the top of the TARDIS and burst into the sky. Glittering streaks fell in the sky and turned to snow above their heads.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Said Rose, smiling with her tongue on her teeth.

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation," he smiled.

Donna laughed a little and said to them, "Merry Christmas."

"You too, Donna." Rose said.

"Yes, merry Christmas." he said. "What will you do with yourself now?"

"Not getting married for starters," she laughed hollowly. "And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno... travel... see a bit more of planet Earth; walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

Rose liked Donna. She was nice and funny and needed some comforting because of what she had just gone through. It was not like she could tell her mum and dad about it. Rose elbowed the Doctor in the ribs.

"You could always come with us if you want." He offered.

"Oh, no I couldn't," Donna said shaking her head. "Just, a life like that. I couldn't handle it. I suppose you two are used to it. My guess is that it's like that for you every day."

"Only every other day," the Doctor smiled.

"I – I just can't," she said.

"It's fine." Rose said. "I hope we do you see you again."

"Tell you what I will do though – Christmas dinner. Mum's a good cook but she's terrible with amounts, cooks enough to feed an army." Donna offered.

Rose frowned a bit. She didn't want to have Christmas dinner with a family, even though it was a nice offer. She wasn't ready for domestic life yet. She just wanted to lay down as well, she was exhausted.

The Doctor noticed her reaction and said, "I think we'll pass… and we have stuff to do…"

Donna nodded and began to walk back to her house, but she didn't reach it until after she called, "Am I ever going to see you again?"

"If we're lucky." The Doctor said and together they hopped back into the TARDIS.

.

They had gone back to gather things from Roses flat. She packed up a couple bags of stuff she really wanted so she wouldn't even have to return there. There was no need for it. Jackie was gone and Rose would always be traveling. There was no one left to appreciate these object so Rose decided to keep some of her mum's as well.

They carried the boxes into Roses room and placed them on the ground. She sat down on the bed, exhausted from the long days she had just had. The Doctor sat down next to her and they sat in silence for a while, just appreciating each other's presence. After a while Rose began to tear up and pulled out an old photo album her mother had been showing her since she was a kid. It contained pictures of her as a baby and her parents when her father was still alive.

"I'm never gonna see her again, am I?" she asked the Doctor, her eyes very watery.

"No. You can't." he said, folding her into his arms.

He could smell her hair and he rubbed her back, comforting her. The things Rose Tyler had done for the Doctor, and she was only temporary. _Temporary. _He hated that word. Why was everything so temporary? Why did everything die or end or leave?

_How long will you be with me?_

_Forever._

And how he wished it were true…

After a while she unfolded herself from his arms and looked up at him. "I'm just going to take a bath."

"Oh… right." He said, trying not to think about it. "I'll just be back at the console… or in the library."

"Alright." She said smiling, as he got up to leave.

.

It was a claw-foot bath tub, a very nice one at that and Rose liked taking baths in it. In the bath she sat very still, tired from the stressful day and continuous running. The water was warm and she didn't know how the TARDIS always had the perfect temperature. She slunk down into the water so that her ears went underneath but her eyes remained above it. She blew the bubbles away from the water near her nose.

She didn't move after that, and just lay in the water. She listened closely and Rose could hear it.

_Bum Bum. …. Bum Bum._

The slow beat of her heart, reminding her that all it could ever be was that, a _single_ heartbeat.

Why did Rose have a single heart? She hated that fact. The Doctor and Rose were so similar in interests, in adventure, in there like for each other… Yet it was something so small that reminded her every day- whenever her pulse raced fast while they were running, whenever she hugged him for a long amount of time and could feel them beat inside his chest- her lonely single heart. Sometimes her mother had told her the reason people were born with one heart is because they needed to find the other, but Rose didn't like to think that. Would that mean that because the Doctor already had two he wouldn't be able to love her?... No. He just couldn't be able to. Rose would die someday and he would live on, without her.

She tried to stop thinking about it sat back up in the tub. A few second after she could hear someone running and the Doctor burst into the bathroom.

"Rose!" he yelled.

"Excuse me!" she said, the bubbles covering everything but her head, neck and shoulders. "I'm in the bath!"

"Right…" he said his flickering from her face to her bare shoulders and then down at his feet. "It's just that the TARDIS said you were in distress and I thought… "

"What?" said Rose.

"I dunno," he rubbed the back of his neck "You might be drowning or something…"

Rose laughed, "Well I'm perfectly fine, thanks."

"Yeah, yeah I can see that. I'll just be… leaving." He said and pushed his way back to the door and exited the room.

Rose just laughed a little and started talking to the TARDIS, "What you do that for, eh?"

The TARDIS just hummed as she considered it. "Well, I was feeling distressed but I don't suppose the Doctor can help with that."

.

Later on Rose went into the library and found the Doctor on a couch, reading a book. It was _Tale of Two Cities_ by Charles Dickens. Rose laughed at him when she saw him and he looked up at her an smiled.

"Read that book in school." She said.

"Yeah I have read it before, but I decided, since you know," he smiled. "We have met Charles Dickens I thought I might have a second look."

"Isn't there a Doctor in there too?" Rose asked, taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"Well yeah but that's not his real name, although he gets referred to as the Doctor quite a bit." He laughed.

"That's nice..." Rose mumbled, clearly tired.

The Doctor shifted his position to better fit her next to him. She snuggled into him a little and fell asleep almost instantly. He continued to read and play with her hair as he did so. He could smell Rose, and feel Rose and he wanted nothing more at the moment- that could ever be possibly his. She rested her head on him while she slept and her hair looking like a golden halo around her head. He thought about how little time he actually had with her in his life. He thought about the Bad Wolf and what it could be doing to her, but there would be more time for him to think about that later and he pushed back his memories because at that moment Rose was still very silently, beautifully, and his.

**Sorry this took a while! Been crazy busy! Anyways, thanks for reading enjoy ;)**

**p.s did you catch the a TTC reference? (not the one pointed out)**


	6. Chapter 6

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

Smith and Jones- And Tyler

Rose woke up not really sure about the details of what happened the night before; just that she fell asleep in the library on the couch with the Doctor, and now she woke up in her bed. Rose figured he must have carried her there and she couldn't help but let a small smile form on her face as she sat up. She wondered what she and the Doctor would get to do today; she always had something exciting to look forward to, whether or not it was planned. Things sometimes just happened.

She walked into the console room but the Doctor wasn't there so she moved on until she found him in the kitchen. He sat at the table and when she entered the room he smiled up at her and said, "Morning."

"Good Morning, Doctor." Rose went for the cupboard to look for something to eat for breakfast.  
"And what is it that we're doing today?"

"Well," he tilted his head to the side. "I was thinking we can check out a hospital. I have been getting strange energy readings and figured it might need a look."

"This one doesn't have cat nuns, does it?" Rose joked.

"No, it doesn't. Just a regular hospital you'd be used to. Regular, plain Earth." He stood up out of his chair and took a couple steps towards her and the counter.

Rose had taken out some cereal and started to pour herself a bowl. The Doctor just leaned against the counter watching her. Rose could be so domestic, in his opinion. Even if that wasn't the way the Doctor did things, he was learning to warm up to it. Rose had always made the TARDIS feel a little more like home.

"As long as nobody is out to steal my body, I think it will be fun." Rose mused.

"Our little adventures are always fun!" The Doctor deliberated, "I mean we have had issues unforeseen every once in a while, but they always turn out fine in the end."

Rose considered his words. They did always turn out fine but they had a few close calls- actually, more than a few. There were the interesting times when he had taken her places and everything was all fun and games, but more often than not things took a nasty turn. She wasn't sure if trouble followed the Doctor or if the Doctor followed it. Sometimes she would think she almost lost him. The Satan Pit, Satellite Five, Canary Warf… she was tired of being worried. Nevertheless, that was life with the Doctor and either way, she loved it. It was all worth it being with him.

"Yeah," Rose said, sitting down at the table with her breakfast. "I suppose we do.

The Doctor sat down when she did, opposite Rose, at the table. For the rest of breakfast they talked as they usually did, making jokes about each other and revisiting their adventures within their memories.

.

At the console the Doctor flipped some leavers and turned a gear, putting on the coordinates. Rose sat on the pilot's seat and watched him work; how she loved to. She played with her hair while the Doctor was techno babbling. He pulled up a screen with a graph and some other things Rose didn't know how to read.

"So in other words," he continued to speak his foreign clever language, "always visit a German physicist because you never know when they figure out the secrets to electrical resistance."

"What?" said Rose raising her eyebrows, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Georg Simon Ohm…" he looked at her. "Right, yeah. Babbling."

"It's okay, really." Said Rose, getting off the pilots seat and hopping up next to him by the console. "I don't mind your yapping but don't expect me to pay much attention to it because I never understand what you're saying. You know I'm not as clever as you."

He turned around from where he was working and reached an arm under her to pull down a leaver, trapping her back to the console, his body not so far from hers. She smiled and her breath hitched a bit when the Doctor leaned in closer and said, "Oh, but you're brilliant.

His face was only inches from hers and she felt her cheeks turning red, blushing. She thought maybe, just maybe, he might go as far as to close the small gap in-between them but all chances were lost when the TARDIS lurched and they toppled onto each other over the grating floor. They rolled over laughing and the Doctor stood up offering his hand to her. She grabbed it gratefully and, still holding it, they walked over to the TARDIS doors. When they opened them they were in the middle of London, the hospital just down the street from where the TARDIS appeared.

"Here we are!" the Doctor said, dragging Rose with him. "That'll be it over there. Royal Hope Hospital."

He pointed to a large building with many windows and a big sign reading its name.

"Hm, it's got no giant green moon on the side." Rose laughed and the Doctor dragged her next to him towards the hospital.

They walked towards it hand in hand, not exactly sure what they were getting themselves into. When entered the hospital the Doctor looked around and tried to soak in all the details. Nothing looked suspicious as far as he could see; they would have to do some investigating.  
They secretly walked around the depths of the hospital, the Doctor pointing his sonic screwdriver at everything, but nothing satisfying their discomfort with the place. They tried many doors but only found normal patients and occupied doctors. They were busy sneaking around certain hallway when they turned the corner and bumped in to a woman. She was dark and pretty young, maybe a few years older than Rose.

"Sorry!" She said, straightening her white lab coat back in its proper position.

"No problem." Rose smiled.

"It's fine, really." The Doctor said grabbing Roses hand trying to get past the woman before they got into trouble.

But the woman held her hand up to stop them and asked, "What are you guys doing over here? This is the staff's area."

"Well…" the Doctor started to reach into his coat to pull out the psychic paper but the woman raised her eyebrows and started talking before he could explain.

"Hold up, I recognize you two." She raised her eyes brows. "You came up to me and took your tie off and put it around her."

She pointed to the Doctor and then to Rose. They just looked at her, puzzled. They were in the hospital all morning and were sure these antics the woman spoke of weren't of their doing.

"Did I do that?" the Doctor asked. "I don't think I did..."

"Yeah." Rose agreed. "What are you talking about? We probably would remember doing something like that."

The woman folded her arms and looked at them suspiciously, "Are you sure? I am pretty sure that was you."

"Yeah I'm sure." The Doctor looked at her questionably, not sure what to make of the conversation, but that was life as a Time Lord; live for the unexpected.

Abruptly, the woman's phone began to ring inside her pocket. She took it out and sighed, realizing that it was a call she had better take. She started to move near the door close to them in the hallway and pointed at them, her phone still in her hand.

"You two just wait right there, I'll be right back." She said reaching for the door handle but it shocked her and she jumped back, looking alarmed. "Oh my gosh!"

"Hey that happened to me on the lift." Rose pointed out and the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Rose nodded and went into deep thought.

"Anyways," the woman said, the phone still ringing. "Stay right there."

She stepped into the room, answering her phone. The Doctor and Rose stood outside for a little bit when he grabbed her hand and they continued to walk down the hallway. Rose smiled knowing that the Doctor wasn't going to stay out outside in the hallway waiting to get in trouble, he was going to go make some more or possibly find it. The Doctor sonic'd a couple more doors but only found supply cupboards and rooms where some graveyard shift surgeons slept. They were walking back down the hallway and passed the room with the woman in it. She was still on the phone and looked at them sternly. They turned back around the corner but lost their footing when the ground began to shake. The walls also trembled and the Doctor and Rose were thrown against each other before toppling onto the floor. The lights flickered and held onto each other, not able to get up off the violent floor. Down the hall a gurney began to roll back and forth and they could hear people's screams.

"Was that an earthquake?" Rose asked the Doctor, worried.

"I don't think so." He said as he got up brushing his suit down then proceeding to help Rose up.

They opened the nearest door with the sonic screwdriver and there were patients out of their beds slowly helping themselves up. Odd, Rose thought. The room looked dark. She looked up to the window and then realized why. Outside it was not the London landscape, it was something much different. The ground was grey and barren, full of many craters and jagged cliffs. Off in the sky there was no sun visible; it was the Earth. The Earth was out in space floating in front of them, miles and miles away. They were on the moon.

Rose looked up at the Doctor and softly asked, "Doctor, are we on the moon?"

He just kept staring out into the scenery of the window but whispered back, "Yeah."

People began screaming and wailing as they saw the sight outside of the windows. One dropped to their knees and began praying. Others held each other or pushed the Doctor and Rose out of their way and began running in the hallway in a panic.

Suddenly the dark woman from earlier walked into the room and was followed by a female friend. She looked outside the window and shouted, "It's real!"

Her friend started sniffing and tears were forming in her eyes, obviously frightened by the sight. Her shoulders shook by the other woman looked just a bit jumpy and anxious.

"It's really real!" she said and lifted her hand to open the window but the other girl shouted.

"Don't!" she quivered. "We'll lose all the air."

The other woman pointed at the window and said, "But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out then it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So, how come?"

The Doctor regained movement and walked towards the window and the pair of girls saying, "Very good point. Brilliant, in fact what was your name?"

He nodded towards the girl and she said, "Martha; Martha Jones."

"Well, then the question is, Martha Jones, how are we still breathing?" he took some more steps to the window and peered outside.

Rose followed right behind him and the nervous friend of Martha's just complained, "But we can't be breathing."

"But, obviously, we are, so don't waste my time." He continued to peer outside. "Martha, is there a balcony on this floor or some sort of… veranda?"

"By the patients lounge, yeah." she responded.

"Time to go out." He said as he looked at Rose.

They began to leave when Rose turned her back and looked at Martha and asked, "Coming?"

"Yeah." She said, walking towards them.

"We might die." warned the Doctor.

"We might not." was her jaunty reply.

"Good, then come on." He tilted his head towards the hallway but not before pointing to the other shaking girl and saying "But not her, she'd hold us up."

They fought their way through the crowd of people in the hallway, rushed and flustered about until they reached some doors that led onto a landing outside.

Rose and the Doctor cautiously opened the door and stepped out, Martha right behind. The scene was beautiful but terrifying, just like that of the window to the room they were in. He walked up the edge of the landing, peering down; they were a few floors up. He grabbed Rose to his side and she just stared at the sight in awe. He liked when she did that; it made taking her to the crazy places they'd been last even longer and better in his memory because of the way her face would just light up.

"It's beautiful!" she said, snickering a little. "And we're on the moon!"

"How have we got air?" Martha asked, walking up beside them.

"Just be glad we do." was the Doctor's answer.

"I've got a party tonight." Martha sighed, "It's my brother's twenty first. My mother is going to be really…" but her voice chocked

"You okay?" Rose asked.

"Yeah." She nodded, still absorbing the fact of the matter. How were these strangers so calm about being on the moon, and happy? What if they were stuck here on the moon?

"Want to go back in?" asked the Doctor.

"No way." Said Martha, with a small smile. "I mean we could any minute but all the same, it's gorgeous. How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are!"

"Standing in the Earthlight…" the Doctor looked at Rose and she leaned onto the balcony.

"This has to be extraterrestrial." Martha nodded. "A few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben? Christmas, those Cybermen things… I had a cousin; Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. Never came home."

Rose looked at her upset face, that was quite a day for her as well. "I'm sorry. I no longer have my mum cause of it. We were there too," She pointed to the both of them. "The Doctor and I."

"Did you say he's a Doctor?" Martha asked.

"I'm the Doctor… so," he shrugged, "Yeah."

"Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor." He smiled.

"People just call you 'the Doctor'?" she questioned.

"All I ever call him." Rose said looking him up and down and thought on it for a second. What was his real name? That couldn't have been it. 'The Doctor' must just be a title he carried… Right?

"Well if I ever pass my exams I will earn that title." Martha said. "And I promise you, we are getting back. If we can get onto the moon than we can get back."

The Doctor picked up a rock off the ground- rubble from when the hospital shook violently- and threw it far off the balcony in front of them. It hit something invisible but made a made a spark appear and a small blue light rippled.

"Some sort forcefield, then?" Rose asked.

"Yes it is keeping the air in." He said.

"If that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?" Martha asked.

"How many people in this hospital?" The Doctor turned and looked at Martha.

"I don't know, a thousand?" She shrugged.

"One thousand people… Suffocating." the Doctor sighed.

"So who is exactly responsible this time?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"Well I'd say them over there." he pointed off into the distance where some tall black shops had landed, creatures of some sort unloading and marching in formation.

"Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens." Martha looked out at them.

"Judoon," the Doctor said knowingly.

Floors beneath them they heard the Judoon storming into the hospital. Screams of the people were heard so they ran downstairs and found some plants to hide behind.

"Oh, look down there," the Doctor said smiling. "You've got a little shop;I like a little shop."

Rose sniggered; no matter how tense the situation, the Doctor could find humour.

"So what are they exactly?" Rose asked.

"Police," he replied. "Well, police for hire. More like interplanetary thugs."

"And why have thy brought us to the moon?" Martha asked.

"Neutral territory. According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, so they isolated us... Although in not sure how..."

"The rain." Martha said.

They both looked at her for an explanation to the words she just muttered.

"The rain," she said again. "It was going up."

"Ahh." Realised the Doctor. "An H2O scoop."

"What's that about 'galactic law'? Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?" she laughed after her output of many questions.

"No," he said. "But I like that. Good thinking. No, it's more simple. They're making a catalogue, it means they're after something non-human…"

"Ha..." Rose gave a hollow laugh. "This is going to get interesting."

"Don't worry, Rose." He winked at her, "Things always turn out alright."

"Why would that be a problem if they're looking for something non-human?" Martha asked and Rose laughed. "Oh, you are kidding me! You guys are aliens?!"

"Actually, just the Doctor." Rose pointed, "I'm human. Just like you."

"We'll maybe not 'just'..." The Doctor whispered but then changed the subject, "Come on, then. Is there anywhere I can access patient files?"

"Ever heard of patient confidentiality?" Martha tried to tell him off.

"Is that really the priority at the moment?" Asked Rose.

"I suppose not," Martha shook her head. "But what do you need them for?"

"They're looking for someone. I might be able to find them," he told her.

"Okay, this way," Martha said getting up behind the plants and leading them away.

.  
They had found the files on the computer and the Doctor was looking through them, Rose just over his shoulder.

Martha looked out the window in the door and said, "They've reached the third floor."

When she turned around seesaw the Doctor using his sonic. She had never seen anything like it before and questioned, "What is that thing?"

"Sonic-screwdriver," Rose said smiling. "Helped us in ways more than one."

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly!" Martha said, thinking hey we're somehow making fun.

"No, really, it is," the Doctor told her, holding it up. "It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic."

The Doctor brushed off the joke and happily found his results, "Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon."

Rose smiled at the dorky word play.

"Cause we were just travelling past, I swear," he explained. "We were just wandering, weren't looking for trouble, honestly, we weren't. But I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital. And that lightning, that's plasma coils, been building up so we decide to take a look. I thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above."

"But what were they looking for?" Martha asked.

"Something that looks human, but isn't." He said.

"Like you." Rose smiled; it was true, sometimes she forgot.

"Like me," he said. "But not me. Might be a shape-changer..."

"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?" Martha asked.

"If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution." He explained.

"All of us?" Martha said, feeling it wasn't fair.

"Oh yes. If I can find this thing first... Oh! Just that - they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick!" He laughed an Rose just soaked in the knowledge about other species she knew nothing about- as usual- because,apparently,Judoon were thick.

"No I'm serious! Judoon are thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever," he was concentrating on thinking and put his hands up to his hair, making it stick all over.

"Well, what are we looking for?" She asked.

"I don't know. Any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back-up." He said, the cogs still working in his head.

"Just keep working," she told him. "I'll go ask Mr Stoker, he might know."

She turned to leave and Rose called out for her to be careful. She sat down and way watched the Doctor try and sort things out.

"So Judoon look like rhinos." Rose mused.

"And?" The Doctor asked, wondering what her point was.

"Isn't that strange? They're so similar in appearance."

"You look like me." He laughed but the his face turned serious again, "I've restored the back-up. Looks like we should go find Martha."

.

They went looking for Martha but it wasn't a long search. They were moving quickly and accidentally bumped into her in the hallway turning the corner. It was second time they did that, that day. They we starting to make a habit.

"Mr Stoker…" she cried, horror on her face. " He's dead!"

"What?" The Doctor asked, needing more information.

"I found her, the alien!" Martha yelled.

As she said that a human figure In a black leather suit blundered into the hallway.

The Doctor saw this and grabbed Roses hand yelling, "Run!"

And so they did, as fast as they could, Martha right behind them.

**My chapters vary in length quite a bit. I think I just type whatever have time for; I am very busy. But I love it soooo thanks for reading ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

Chapter Seven

Smith and Jones and Tyler- and Judoon

They ran down the hallway as fast as they could. Wires hang from the ceiling due to the planets trip to the moon and things had fallen all over the floor causing them to jump every once in a while. The Doctor still clung to Roses hand and she happily did the same while Martha was not far behind them. After them ran a man dressed in all black leather and a motorcycle-looking helmet; if he was indeed a _man._ They kept running and turning on the way; a right here and a left there. Eventually the Doctor looked inside a room and dragged in Rose while shoving in Martha. He quickly turned around and shut the door, sonicing it so that their enemy in hot pursuit wouldn't be able to get in.

They were in a radiation room and it was full of heavy machinery and expensive equipment.

Beside her, Martha was flipping through the operator's manual as fast as she could. The Doctor ran into a room yelling to Martha,

"When I say 'Now' press the button!"

"But I don't know which one!" she yelled back, throwing her arms into the air.

"Well, find out!" he yelled back and started to sonic equipment.

Rose tentatively looked at the door which was going under a strong and constant pounding coming from, the man in leather outside. Meanwhile the Doctor had taken some of the machinery and pointed it towards the doorway. Rose leapt out of the way and it wasn't long before the door broke down. The man stepped towards them and the Doctor yelled, "NOW!"

His sonic was still in the machine when Martha pushed a giant yellow button. A bright light shone, causing Rose and Martha to close their eyes, not quite sure what the Doctor had done. When they opened them they saw the man fall lifelessly to the ground. The Doctor looked down at it while Rose nervously looked at the glowing letters of the sign on the wall that read, 'RADIATION ON'.

"What did you do?" Rose asked; even though he looked fine she wasn't sure that was the reality.

"Increased the radiation by five-thousand percent." He nodded down at the body. "Killed him dead."

"But wouldn't that kill you?" Martha asked, astonished.

It turned out to be a correct guess. A beam of radiation shot out at the man. There were a few bright flashes… and he fell to the ground.

"What did you do?"

"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent," he told them. "Killed him dead."

"Isn't that likely to kill you?" Martha said in concern.

"Nah, it's only roentgen radiation," he shrugged. "We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out. I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it."

_Expel it?_ Rose wondered. _How on Earth- or rather, Moon- was he going to do that?_

But it wasn't long before those questions in her mind were replaced with new ones as the Doctor began bouncing up and down on the spot.

"If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it..." He began breathing heavily and shaking his foot about him. "Out, out!"

Rose just sort of smiled at him, watching the funny man squirm around. Martha just looked slightly confused but a little amused.

"It itches, it itches!" he yelled and then pulled off his shoe and threw it into a bin.

"You're completely mad." Martha looked him up and down but smiled at the sight.

"You're right. I look daft with one shoe." He said and pulled of his other and threw it in as well. "Barefoot on the Moon."

Rose looked at him and shrugged, "We may have to try that out properly, one of these days."

He appreciated her joke by pulling her into his side.

"So what is that thing?" Martha looked at the both of them. "And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?"

"It's just a Slab." he replied. "They're called 'Slabs'. Basic slave drones, see? Solid leather; all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."

Rose chocked with laughter at the Doctor's remark and then stood up. She was happy it wasn't actually alive; it wasn't like the Doctor to just kill something, even if it was just an enemy pursuer without a face. She was happy that her paradigm of the Doctor still stood solid in her mind and her heart.

"It came with that woman, Mrs. Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant." Martha said, feeding information to the pair of them.

Rose walked over to the Doctor and looked at him struggling to take his sonic out of the machine. After some wiggling it finally gave but the results were not so pleasing. The front end of it was bent and melted, beyond repair.

"My sonic-screwdriver!" the Doctor whined with child-like sadness.

Rose looked at it and sighed, "Oh no…" That handy device had gotten them through a lot of tricky situations.

"She was one of the patients, but-" Martha continued but they just looked at the sonic, quickly mourning its loss.

"Burt out my sonic-screwdriver!" he looked at Rose, frowning.

"She had a straw like some kind of vampire." Martha said but still, they didn't pay attention.

"I love my sonic-screwdriver!" he cried out.

"Doctor!" Said an annoyed Martha and he turned around to face him as he tossed the sonic over his shoulder.

"Sorry," he said but then grinned cheekily. "You called me 'Doctor'."

"Anyway…" Martha said, admiring his smile and figuring she should have called him that sooner. "Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood!"

"Funny time to take a snack." he deliberated. "You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless - no. Yes, that's it, wait a minute. Yes! Shape-changer; internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it. If she can assimilate Mr. Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she can register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"

He ran out the door, yet again tugging Rose behind him and Martha following at the rear. They ran down a hallway when the Doctor pulled them into a corner. He tugged Rose down and they crouched on the floor, right next to a water cooler. Martha did the same and inched her way to try and keep as hidden as possible.

"Why are we hiding?" Rose asked him.

The Doctor could feel Rose right next to him and tried to shiver away any distractions that were slowly creeping into his thoughts. His arms leaned one against the wall and the other holding her. She felt her heart flutter when he answered her, his breath touching her neck, "A thing about slabs; they always come in pairs."

"Like you?" Martha asked, curious as to their status of, well, everything.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, his breath still tickling Roses neck.

"Like you two." She shrugged. "You're a pair. A couple…"

Martha looked at them with her implication and Rose was about to tell her that they were- unfortunately in her opinion- just very good friends when the Doctor spoke first.

"Humans." He shook his head. "We're stuck on the moon, running out of air, with Judoon and a blood-sucking criminal and you're asking personal questions?"

When Martha realized she didn't get an answer she just mumbled, "Still not sure you're an alien."

The Doctor stood up and then helped Rose up after him. Martha slowly got up as well, ready for some more silent sneaking. But that situation was lost when the Doctor turned in the hallway and looked into the face of a large Judoon.

It grunted and pointed a scanner in his face. He just looked wide eyed as it made weird sounds and shone a blue light.

"Non-human." It declared after he got his reading.

"Oh my, gosh. You really are!" Martha looked at him amazed.

They again continued to run as fast as they could down the hospital corridors. They shot their guns and missed, the red lasers streaking right past them. They found some stairs and scaled them, climbing them and slowly losing their- already minimal- breath. Rose laughed when she saw the dirtiness of the bottom of the Doctors bare feet.

They ran up to a door and the Doctor closed it and locked it, manually this time. They walked into the corridor as people slumped about their feet. They passed people quickly, one of which included her nervous friend from earlier.

"They've done this floor." the Doctor said. "Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already; if we're lucky."

Martha turned and looked at her friend. She was busy comforting someone, holding an oxygen mask to her face.

"How much oxygen is there?" she asked crouching down next to her.

"Not enough for all these people." her friend shook her head. "We're going to run out."

"Oh, right …" the Doctor looked and Martha and then Rose. "How are you feeling?"

"Brilliant." Rose said, a little out of breath.

"And you?" he looked at Martha.

"Running on adrenaline." She replied. "What about the Judoon?"

"Ah, great big lung reserves, it won't slow them down. " He looked up and down the corridor. "Where's Mr. Stoker's office?"

"It's this way." She said, getting up and then leading them down another hallway in the darkened hospital. She opened a closed door and entered the office, seeing no sign of aliens. However behind the desk they could see something lying on the floor. When they saw it, Rose sighed at the dead body that lay there. Mr. Stokers face was cold and dry, along with the rest of him. The Doctor leaned down next to him and examined the body.

"She's gone!" Martha yelled, looking around the messed up office. "She was here."

"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right; she's a Plasmavore." He said, glad to name the species definitely but not very pleased with the reality.

"What was she doing on Earth?" Martha asked.

"Hiding; on the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro." He answered her. "What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."

Martha knelt down next to the body as they made their way to the door. She silently shut his eyelids, feeling more at peace and they got up and followed them out. Rose noticed her actions and smiled at her.

"Think, think, think," the Doctor scratched the back of his head. "If I was a Plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?"

"Find a way out?" Rose suggested.

He looked up and noticed MRI sign and said, "Oh, she's just as clever as me."

Screams suddenly erupted at the end of the hallway and the Judoon burst through the doors. They blundered in yelling with somewhat deep rhino-like voices. "Find the non-humans! Execute!"

"Oh great." He ran his fingers through his hair. "You're going to need to hold them up."

"And how exactly do we do that?!" Martha panicked slowly as the Judoon were making their way closer.

"Ready to save a thousand lives, Rose?" the Doctor looked at her, his hearts suddenly beating a lot faster than normal.

"Of course." She nodded.

The Doctor walked towards her and suddenly, before she even had time to react and think about his current actions, he grabbed her face in his hands and brought her lips to his. He kissed her intensely and Rose was so shocked that she didn't have enough time to melt into him. She had just begun to raise her arms when he started to pull away, his hands dropping to his sides and her hair falling back into place.

"That should confuse the scans." He smiled down at her and then briskly turned around, running away from them.

Rose didn't even have time to yell out his name because she was too busy standing as a statue, stuck, and her cheeks very red. She couldn't help the smile shine on her face but then quickly change to concern as she looked to where the Doctor has disappeared.

Martha broke the silence, "You look as if you don't do that all the time."

"Well, we don't." said Rose, still blushing crazily.

"So, you're not a couple?" Martha asked, and couldn't really control the bit of eagerness that rose up inside her when she asked the question.

"No." Rose looked at her, and started straightening some messy blonde strands. "I'm just his companion. That's all."

"Oh?" Martha rose an eyebrow, getting the answer she secretly wanted, and for why was to blame to the small knot turning happily in her stomach whenever the Doctor spoke. "And why not?"

"Well, we have kissed before… but that was different. Not like a real one," she shook her head. " And plus, the Doctor doesn't even do domestic; like relationships and all that. It took a while to get him to sit down for a good dinner with me and my mum."

"Oh…" She said, looking down at her feet. Martha had no idea what Rose meant by a real kiss but decided not to ask. She couldn't really help the fascination that increased within her about this interesting, funny, and not-so-bad looking man- who wasn't really a _man_ at all. But he didn't do domestic. He was an alien who had unknown, perhaps even completely different, types of qualities and she supposed that was only realistic. "Right."

The Judoons low voiced echoed about and they waited to be scanned.

.

The Doctor was walking to find the MRI room and, _blimey,_ was his body full of adrenaline. He had just kissed Rose, and he loved it. _Any excuse to kiss that girl,_ he was thinking but then remembered his rule about falling for companions and how it was just so… wrong. Even though with Rose things always felt just so… right.

He stepped into the MRI room and saw the machine, flowing with visible electricity. The old Woman looking Plasmavore was meddling with machinery and didn't really care to see that he had come inside.

"Have you seen? There are these _things!"_ he caught her attention and she turned around to face him as he pointed out the door. "These great big, space, rhino things! I mean, rhinos! From space!"

She turned back to her work and he just continued to babble.

"And I just came in for my bunions-Look!" he said holding up one of his very dirty feet. "All fixed now, perfectly good treatment. The nurses were lovely I said to my wife I'd recommend this place to anyone, and then we end up on the moon!"

The old lady plasmavore turned around to face him and stalked towards him, weakly, but with much strength in her eyes.

"And did I mention the Rhinos?" he said pointing out the door again.

The Florence's eyes flickered to a curtain and she said, "Hold him!"

A slab came from behind the sheet and grabbed his arms, restraining him.

.

The rhinos had finally made their way to Rose who was standing, ready to stall as much as possible. Martha stepped forward first and they raised their scanner, the blue light hitting her forehead.

"Nonhuman." It grumbled then pushed her to the side.

"Wait!" Rose pleaded still trying to steal more time but the Judoon raised the scanner to her. It made a weird pulsing sound and then he spoke,

"Human…" he had begun to lower it when he said, "Wait. Nonhuman trace suspected."

Rose let out a breath full of both worry and relief and the Judoon barked again, "Nonhuman element confirmed. Authorize full scan!"

It backed her up against the wall and Rose yelped a little.

"What are you!?" it questioned.

Rose tried to plead but the rhinos were not ones to relent.

.

"That thing, that big machine thing – is it supposed to be making that noise?" The Doctor asked, trying to appear clueless to his enemy.

"You wouldn't understand." Florence said, a tad annoyed.

"Isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet?" he questioned even though he knew the answers. "I did magnets at GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same."

"A magnet with its setting now increased to 50,000 Tesla." She said, looking over the machinery.

"Oh, that's a bit strong isn't it?" he asked.

"I can send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brain-stems of every living thing within 250,000 miles." She said with sort of a devilish smile. "Except me; safe in this room."

"But... hold on, hold on, I did geography for GCSE, I did pass that one, doesn't that distance include Earth?" he said, getting Florence to easily tell him all her plans.

"Only the side facing the moon." She said, as a matt of fact. "The other half will survive. Call it my little gift."

"I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunions - why would you do that?" he said, gaining more knowledge with the guise.

"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine to make my escape." She said, but as if he would understand her.

"Now, that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of an alien!" he exclaimed.

"Quite so." She smiled to herself.

"No!" he said, tilting his head as if she were joking.

"Oh, yes."

"You're joshing me!"

"I am not."

"I'm talking to an alien, in a hospital?" he said, still hanging about the slabs arms. "What, has the place got an ET department?"

"It's the perfect hiding place," she explained. "Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast. And all this equipment ready to arm myself with should the police come looking."

"So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?" he rose his eyebrows.

"Yes. But I'm hidden," she rose up her hand, revealing a large black 'X'.

"Oh. Right," he said. "Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans."

"They're doing what?" she said, worriedly.

"Big chief rhino boy, he said, 'No sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans up to setting two'."

"Then I must assimilate again." She said, preparing herself.

"What does that mean?" he shifted in the slabs arms.

"I must appear to be human." she told him pacing about.

"Well, you're welcome to come home and meet the wife. She'd be honoured. We can have cake!" he said smiling, even though he didn't mean it.

"Why should I have cake? I've got my little straw." She pulled a long straw out of a bag.

"That's nice. Milkshake? I like banana." He stalled again, nervous and starting to feel afraid.

"You're quite the funny man," she told him. "And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Steady him!"

The slab shifted his position so that his head hung to the side and his neck was easily accessible.

"What are you doing?" he asked, very afraid as the plasmavore tapped his neck.

"I'm afraid this is going to hurt." she said smiled and her crooked teeth looked all the more evil. "But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember."

**I plan on getting the next one up very soon; almost finished with the typing bit. Thank you all for your reviews and for following. I really do appreciate it. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

Chapter Eight

Smith and Jones and Tyler and Judoon- and a Plasmavore

It wasn't long before the Doctor's body went completely limp, unable to hold himself up. All at once the door to the room came tumbling down with a large crash and the Judoon came filing in, taking up the space of the room.

"Now see what you've done. This poor man just died of fright," Florence said to them.

"Scan him!" said a Judoon and then the one nearest the Doctor pointed his scanner. "Confirmation. Deceased."

"No!" Burst in Rose, who had nervously followed the Judoon with Martha after they could stall no longer. She knelt down next to the Doctor and grabbed one of his hands with both of hers. The mixture of emotions inside her made tears begin to swell in her eyes. Was the Doctor really dead? He couldn't be... He was too clever to just _die_. He always figured out a way to work things out; he always had a plan. Except... this time something was wrong. He had actually died! He wasn't fatally injured so that je could just begin to start regenerating. And the more Rose looked at him the longer her heart strings tugged inside her waiting for him to do just that or pop back up and start techno babbling or do... _something_. But he just laid there, lifeless and unresponsive.

"No, he can't be!" Martha said from somewhere behind the Judoon. "Let me through, let me see him."

"Stop," a Judoon said. "Case closed."

"It was her. She killed him, she murdered him!" Martha said pointing to Florence.

"Judoon have no authority over human crime." It bellowed.

"But she's not human!"

"Oh, but I am. I've been catalogued." The old woman rose up a frail hand with a black 'X' on it.

"No! She's an alien," Martha cried and Rose remained I the floor still holding the Doctor, now one hand holding his and the other on his chest. "She assimil- wait a minute. You drank his blood…"

Rose hadn't been paying much attention; she was too his staring at the Doctor, but then Martha's swift movements made her look up. Martha had jumped behind a Judoon, taking its scanner and then pointed it at Florence.

"Oh, I don't mind. Scan all you like," she almost laughed while Martha clicked a button made her face light up with blue.

"Non-human." the Judoon grumbled.

"What?" The Plasmavore looke completely baffled. But Martha knew what happened, and now so did Rose.

"Confirm analysis." The Judoon yelled and another scanned Florence.

"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely. I'm human. I'm as human as they come." She tried to smile but it was easy to see the worry in her eyes.

"Confirmed. Plasmavore. I charge you with the crime of murdering the child princess of Padrivole Regency Nine." It bellowed with its crooked lips.

"She deserved it!" Florence threw her hands in the air. "Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore."

"Do you confess?" the Judoon asked.

"Confess? I'm proud of it!" She smiled. "Slab - stop them!"

A Slab moved forward as she ducked behind it towards the MRI machine. A Judoon didn't hesitate to shoot it with some sort of gun and a red laser disintegrated it.

"Verdict; guilty. Sentence; execution." It said.

But Florence had no plans of doing that so raised her arms plugging something together with a crazy look in her eyes. An alarm blared and she just laughed.

"Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me! Burn in he-" she was screaming but then a Judoon shot her and she too disintegrated.

"Case closed." Said the Judoon and then turned around to leave.

"What did she mean, 'burn with me'? The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something," Martha said and then faced the Judoon who were leaving."Do something. Please, stop it!"

"Our jurisdiction has ended," it stated. "Judoon will evacuate."

"What? You can't just leave it!" She pleaded.

Rose had stopped paying attention to Martha a while ago and went back to looking at the Doctor. She was stroking his hair from his face, her face full of tears.

"All units withdraw." Said the Judoon, officially leaving that time.

"You can't go!" Martha shouted at them. "That thing's going to explode and it's your fault!"

They did not respond and Martha gave up. She knelt down next to the Doctor, opposite the side Rose sat.

"You're a doctor!" Rose looked at Martha. "Can't you do something?"

Martha looked questionably at him but then an idea sparked in her head. she knelt her face down next to his, rather nervously but brave, and began CPR on the Doctor.

"Two hearts!" Rose said still holding onto one of the Doctor's hands.

Martha began doing both sides, hoping it worked. Rose waited worried as ever for what felt like ages. And then her eyes got big when the Doctor gasped. He sat up coughing and Rose launched herself in his arms and the Doctor gratefully clung back.

"The scanner..." Rose whispered in his ear.

He let her go and she slumped from his arms, the lack of oxygen taking her. Martha then fell over too. He shuffled on the ground, regaining his strength from the assimilation. He moved over to where all the cords were and jumbled around searching for the proper move to save the day. He. reached into his pocket and then grumbled when he remembered his sonic wash there. With much effort he then unplugged the red coils and the MRI powered down.

He breathed a breath of relief and dropped tiredly to the floor crawling next to Rose. She has passed out next to Martha ad the Doctor slid his arms underneath her body. He slowly lifted her to him, first in his lap until he could stand with her in his arms. He looked at Martha and told himself maybe he could get her later, but he knew what was happening and he had his priorities.

He walked into the hallway, his bare feet shuffling pass all the people who had passed out across the floor. He walked into a room and carried Rose near the window. He looked out at the Judoons ships. They had al boarded we're going to take off soon.

"Come on, come on, come on," he whispered. "Come on, Judoon, reverse it."

suddenly it began to rain ad the Doctor smiled. The Judoon ships took off leaving them behind.

"It's raining." He laughed and the toes of his bare feet wiggled."It's raining on the moon."

With a bright flash the scenery of the moon vanished and was replaced by a beautiful earth.

.

Rose woke up in the med bay of the TARDIS, the Doctor holding a oxygen mask to her face. He smiled at her cheekily and she sat up.

"We're alive!" She said brining him into a hug.

He hugged her back with an equal amount of strength if not harder. "Completely."

"And everyone else?" She rose her eyebrows, though the Doctor couldn't see they were still embracing. "They made it just fine?"

"Yup." He said into her hair. "The Judoon reversed the H2O scoop. They brought the hospital back to Earth."

"Oh, good. And what about Martha?"

"She's just fine, I made sure." They pulled away from each other but the. He grabbed her shoulders to hold her at arms length and look into his eyes. "You okay?"

"Brilliant." Rose smiled. She looked at him intently, wondering if she should say something about the kiss they momentarily shared earlier. She decided she best not, unless he brought it up. She didn't want to make things awkward or do something that might jeopardise the current status quo- to which she very much liked at the time.

.

They went out to eat that evening. They just got some chips, a normal celebration food. The Doctor had gotten himself another sonic screwdriver and they had tested it on a number of different things while they were out. One of which included a television in a store- in which someone was admiring- to suddenly turn on causing the customer to jump then walked about the streets happily swinging their hands together in the process. It was getting late and they had started to head back to the TARDIS.

They were about to turn the corner to the hidden spot to where they troweled the TARDIS when Rose said, "You know we never thanked her... Ya know. Properly."

"You mean Martha?" He asked.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "I mean, she helped out a lot."

"Funny you should say that," he sad looking over her shoulder. "There she is, there."

Martha was standing on the sidewalk, with her arms folded as people were hurriedly walking away from her in several directions. They were all yelling at each other. An older woman, a man with a younger blonde, and a person who went back inside the place thy came from.

"Ah, that'll be the party for her brother." Rose said.

It was then that Martha noticed them and smiled very greatly. She started a brisk pace towards them. But before she could reach them however, the Doctor grabbed Roses hand and dragged her down the narrow street to where the TARDIS was parked. They watched as Martha rounded the corner.

"I went to the moon today," she said when she finally reached them.

"It's a bit more peaceful than down here." he replied.

"You never even told me who you are." She said, raising her eyebrows.

"The Doctor."

"But what sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that," she said taking a few step closer.

"I'm a Time Lord," he told her.

"Right! Not pompous at all, then." She laughed and Rise joined her.

"Anyways," Rose began, "Thank you so much for everything you did to help us today."

"Oh, yes. You were a big help." The Doctor smiled and Martha secretly knew she was going to miss that.

"Oh, that was nothing." She blushed and then looked up. "Why is it you're called a Time Lord?"

Martha was not afraid to ask questions, Rose thought but answered it all the same. "Oh just cause he travels through time ad space!"

The Doctor laughed at Martha's facial expression and then tapped the TARDIS. "And this would be my ship, wonderful time machine."

"So you can travel through time?" She gaped at them.

"Yup." He popped the 'p'.

"Get out of here!" She said, shaking her head but still fascinated.

"We can prove it," he said opening the door.

Rose pointed at Martha and said, "You stay right there." And then the Doctor dragged her inside.

After the loud sound of the TARDIS engines the TARDIS dematerialised before Martha and she unsteadily walked towards where it once was.

.

Inside the TARIDS Rose looked at the Doctor while he fumbled with the controls.

"Where are we going, exactly? He asked.

"This morning." He replied happily.

"Oh, that's right! She said she had seen us before!" Rose grabbed onto the railing and the TARDIS flew back in time.

They opened the doors to the London streets and looked for Martha. Rose finally spotted her and they ran towards her.

"Hello!" The Doctor waved.

Martha just looked at them like they were crazy folk.

He then took off his tie and threw It around Roses neck. She giggled and Martha just continue to look at them confused. The Doctor pulled her hand and they ran away, Rose waving goodbye, back to the TARDIS.

They then materialised back only seconds from where they left Martha. They stepped out and Martha gawked at them as her eyes flicked from the Doctor to the tie around Roses neck.

"Told you!" He laughed.

"I know, but... that was this morning! But - Did you... Oh, my Gosh! You can travel in time!" she shook her head in bewilderment. "But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden," he told her and then flicked the tie hanging fro Rose . "Except for cheap tricks."

"And that's your spaceship?" She pointed to the police box.

"It's called the TARDIS." he said.

"And that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space," Rose said, pretty proudly.

"It looks pretty tiny." She laughed. "Aren't you guys a bit squished in there?"

Rose didn't reply because her words were held up with thoughts suddenly wondering what it would be like to have to actually fit inside a police box with the Doctor.

"Why don't you take a peek?" The Doctor said, pushing open the doors.

Martha walked in, Rose and the Doctor right behind her. He smiled heavily and Rose took the time the appreciate the TARDIS as well by taking a lasting glance on all of its features.

"Oh no, no, no, no…" she ran back out side and began pacing round the TARDIS. "But it's just a box. But it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood. It's like a box with that room just jammed in. It's bigger on the inside!"

"Is it?" he said sarcastically, having just mouthed same statement at the same time.. "I hadn't noticed."

Rose laughed really hard this time, glad the Doctor had such a great sense of humor.

"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"

"Just us." Rose answered and then smiled at him.

"Would you mind if..." Martha looked down at her feet but the back up at them, "Could I come?"

"What?" Rose asked, slightly taken aback and not expecting it.

"I mean just for a short ride. A small visit, that's all." She smiled at them, really hoping they would say yes.

The Doctor looked at Rose for some clarification. Rose didn't really want to take someone else with them; she liked traveling, just the Doctor and her. But if it was just one trip... She ended up shrugging in response.

"Alright!" The Doctor smiled Martha. "One trip! As payment for your wonderful help."

"Thank you!" Martha beamed and then ran up next to the console looking at all the interesting buttons, followed by the Doctor and then by Rose.

"Okay, then. Close down the gravitic anomalizer. Fire up the helmic regulator. And finally - the hand brake," the Doctor said, walking around the TARDIS, working it as he spoke.

"Ready?" asked Rose as she sat down in the pilots seat.

"No." Martha replied simply.

"Off we go!" the Doctor pulled off the brake and the TARDIS shook. He fell right next to Rose on the pilots seat and they grabbed each other for support.

"Blimey, it's a bit bumpy," she Martha remarked.

"That'll be his driving skills!" Rose joked and the Doctor yelled,

"Oi! I'm not that bad."

Martha just laughed as she clung to the console.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones," the Doctor shook her hand and Martha smiled.

"My pleasure, Doctor!" She said.

He sat back down next Rose on the pilots seat as the TARDIS brought them to their next destination.

.

**It is a little smaller than I wish it was. And I do have plans for Martha that don't exactly go along with the original plot so that is exciting. You can expect more from me next time. Also it just occurred to me that you guys probably think I post at crazy hours of the night (in which some cases I do) but in reality I live in one of those more western time zones that go through everything last!**

**Ha! And I hope you do enjoy ;) I love your reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

The Shakespearean Code- Witchcraft

Chapter Nine

"But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?" Martha asked, clinging to the console as the Doctor and Rose got off the pilots seat.

Rose had often asked herself that question, but every time she pictured the Doctor giving an explanation she knew she just wouldn't even understand.

"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything." he said sarcastically while turning a hand crank, "Martha, you don't wanna know. It just does. Hold on tight!"

With a final jerk the TARDIS landed and rocked them about. Martha fell over on her hind quarters while the Doctor and Rose held themselves up.

"Blimey!" She said, hopping to her feet, "Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?"

"Yes, and I failed." He said, stabilising himself and then reaching for his coat.

"Really?" Rose asked, surprised, and picturing another sort of Doctor trying his hardest to fly a TARDIS.

"Yes," he nodded, but then rose an eyebrow, "You sound surprised."

It was more of a question than a statement and Rose replied, "I always thought that the shaking was just 'cause of the fact that we're traveling through time and space..." She trailed off but then came to a realisation. "You have some bumps and bruises to make up for! You have no idea how often I get sore 'cause I always have to break my fall!"

"Sometimes I do that for you!" He defended but then brushed it off, "Ah, fine. I'll just give you a massage later! Now, make the most of it."

He began to talk to Martha while Rose thought about what he had just told her. She would _very_ much like a massage from the Doctor, but she would never let him know that. Her face started to blush and she decided to shake her thoughts to something else.

The Doctor pointed to Martha. "I promised you one trip and one trip only. Outside this door... Brave new world."

He opened the door slightly and she smiled. Rose slowly walked pat her and joined the Doctor at the doors.

"Where are we?" Martha asked.

"_When_ are we?" Asked Rose as she walked passed a very impressed Martha to stand next to the Doctor near the front door.

"Take a look." He pushed the door open slightly. "After you…"

With a smile, Martha cautiously stepped out the doors. She gazed upon a scene from the past. It was late and night and easy to see that it definitely was the back in time; torches hung from walls to keep the busy streets lit. The people were lively about their ways and rather dirty. It was London, old village like, and a horse whinnied not too far from where she stood.

"Oh, you are kidding me," she exclaimed as the Doctor and Rose stepped out of the TARDIS, the Doctor locking the door. "We did it. We travelled in time. Where- or... When are we?"

Above them, a story up, a window opened and a lady poured the contend of a bucket.

The Doctor pulled Martha out of the way before the disgusting waste could fall on her.

"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet. Sorry about that." He said eyeing the contents that now splattered on the streets.

"I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift at A&E." Martha joked while the Doctor and Rose started to walk away, their hands linked and swinging in between them. "But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

"Of course we can. Why do you ask?" The Doctor turned to look at her with a questioning eyebrow.

"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly; you change the future of the human race." She explained her train of thought.

"Oh, I see what you mean." Rose nodded but when she looked at the Doctor he still didn't quite get it, so she continued, "She is talking 'bout that story by Ray Bradbury. A guy goes dinosaur hunting back in time and steps on a butterfly. It changes his entire future; like the language and their president."

"Well, tell you what then," the Doctor grinned, "Don't step on any butterflies."

"What if… I don't know. What if I go back and that guy Saxon isn't winning the election anymore? or what if it turns out I killed my grandfather?" she pleaded, in satisfied with the Doctors joking answer.

"Killing your grandfather? I sure hope you aren't planning on killing anyone." Said Rose.

"We'll I am not planning on it! I'm just saying things could happen." Martha warned.

"Martha your grandparents are already established events in time. Time can hardly be rewritten, it messes with all sorts of things." He tried to give some reassurance.

"Well, nothing we do really changes history all that much," Rose confirmed. "Half of the time were spendin' it saving bad things from ever happening in the first place."

"But do you ever run into yourself?" She asks, curious.

"That would be a paradox, and I'd rather not have to deal with them. It doesn't generally happen; no." The Doctor said.

"Right..." Martha agreed even though she wasn't actually sure what for. "And this is London?"

"I think so," the Doctor breathed in some air through his nose and said, "Round about, ooh – um… 1599."

"Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not gonna get carted off as a slave, am I?" Martha asked, very worried.

"Why would they do that?" Asked the Doctor.

"I'm not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed!" She pointed to her face.

Rose guessed that the Doctor had seen enough races of aliens to be used to whatever skin colour. She figured when you have the know whole of time and space at your hands you don't really care for dwelling on people's ethnicity. Although, Rose was never sure what the Doctor might have experienced. She recalled the time they frat traveled i the past, when they met Charles Dickens. He had called her beautiful, _for a human._ What did that even mean? Rose figured that people and Time Lords must look alike because the Doctor looked like a man in both of bodies she had seen. She tried her best not to take the comment as an insult and just dwelled on the fact he had called her beautiful.

"I'm not even human," he winked. "Just walk about like you won the place. Works for me."

Rose laughed and said, "It doesn't always work; we get in loads of trouble! And half the time to ought to thank the psychic paper."

"The psychic what?" Martha asked.

"Ah, you'll probably see it soon enough." he brushed off her question and he just looked confused.

"What do you think we ought to do while we're here?" Rose asked.

"I'm not sure what there is..." Martha said. "Everything is so different."

"You'd be surprised." The Doctor chirped. "Elizabethan England; not so different from your time. Look over there."

A man was shoveling manure and straw from the street into a bucket. The Doctor continued, "You've got recycling… "

Two men stood chatting near a water barrel. "The water cooler..."

An old man yelled at them as they passed, "…And the world will be consumed by flame!"

"Global warming," The Doctor smiled. "Oh yes, and speaking of globes…. Entertainment! Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, were just down the river by Southwark right next to…"

He looked up and down the street, taking Roses hand and running. He turned the street and looked up at a round building not so far off in the distance. "The Globe Theatre!"

"First Dickens! Now Shakespeare?!" Rose screamed with delight. "Honestly, you are amazing!"

"Thank you, Rose!" The Doctor smiled down at her and she held his arm, lovingly.

Martha had caught up, she just watched them. Rose had told her they were not a couple, yet they looked so much like one. Her stomach turned with disapproval, but she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't stop two people from loving each other-if they actually did- even if the selfish part of her wanted more for herself.

"So we're really going to meet Shakespeare!" Martha chimed in.

"This is the real deal – containing the man himself." He said.

"No way!" Martha exclaimed.

"Oh yes," he grinned.

He looked at the both of them mischievously; Rose noticed and asked, "Doctor, what is it?"

"How would you ladies fancy a trip to the theatre?" He asked.

"I'd love to, Doctor!" Rose said, wrapping her arm tighter around his.

"Not a bad idea!" Martha smiled and she followed right next to them, making their way to the Globe.

"When you get home," He said to Martha, "you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare."

"Then I could get sectioned!" She said smiling on the outside, but in reality feeling quite damp. She didn't want this adventure to end. She didn't want to go home. Nonetheless, she had to make do with those wonderful moments time had given her.

.

"That's amazing! Just amazing," Martha applauded at the end of the play. They were standing on the floor in front of the stage in a large mass of people. The actors bowed and the applause continued. "It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

"London never changes." the Doctor joked.

Rose laughed really hard at this one and the Doctor just snickered. They bounced up and down with giddiness and people in the crowd cheered, hooted and waved their hats.

"Where's Shakespeare? I wanna see Shakespeare!" Martha asked.

"Yeah, where's the author?" questioned Rose.

"Author! Author!" Martha shouted, raising her fist into the air but stopped when people looked at her oddly. "Do – do people say that? Do they shout 'author'?"

"Author!" Yelled a man not too far from them. Soon others picked up the chant.

"Well," the Doctor grinned at the crowd. "They do now."

From behind the stage a man jumped onto it. He had a short beard and somewhat long hair. It was the actual William Shakespeare in the flesh. He gave a low bow blowing kisses to the audience, dramatically. The audience cheered and Shakespeare walked across the stage, taking in the scene.

"He's a bit different to his portraits." Martha noticed.

Rose knew that when traveling with the Doctor you never really could expect things to be how you thought they might have been in the past or were going to be in the future. For example, there was the fact that Queen Victoria had actually had an encounter with a werewolf. Nobody would ever know that actually happened. Rose knew the Doctor tried to steer away from major events in the timeline of the world, but she knew that it was bound to happen here and there, that they would get mixed up in the mess.

"Genius," the Doctor muttered, not paying much attention to Martha's question because he was too busy anticipating the moment. "He's a genius –_ the_ genius. The most human 'Human' that's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words. New beautiful, brilliant words!"

Rose and Martha stopped their cheering so they could hear the writer speak. Shakespeare had motioned for quiet, but the crowd still roared.

"Shut your big, fat mouths!" he yelled at them jokingly.

The crowd was quite for a second before they started to laugh. The Doctor's face fell and Rose just giggled.

"Oh, well." he sighed.

"You should never meet your heroes." Martha joked.

"You have excellent taste! I'll give you that!" Shakespeare yelled to the crowd throwing his arm in the air. "Oh, that's a wig!"

He pointed to a man in the crowd and they laughed. Shakespeare was funny, and nothing like Martha had really ever pictured him.

"Now, I know what you're all saying. 'Loves Labour's Lost' - that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops! Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon." He paused and the audience cried out to him asking when it would be they got to see his next masterpiece. "Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius."

He took a small bow and stuck out his foot. He jerked back up, awkwardly and said, "When? Tomorrow night! The premiere of my brand new play, a sequel, no less, and I call it 'Love Labour's Won'!"

The actors in the play looked at him as if this was brand new news to their ears but decided to just go with it. Rose had noticed this and when she looked at the Doctor his facial expression was very concerned.

.

"I'm not an expert," Martha said as the three of them walked amongst the crowd exiting the theatre. "But I've never heard of 'Love Labour's Won'."

"Exactly" he said. "The lost play. It doesn't exist, only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never turns up. No one knows why."

"Do you have a mini-disk?" Martha asked. "We could tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint!"

They both looked at her with faces as if she should obviously know the reason why that could never be an option. When she said nothing the Doctor just shook his head.

"No," he said.

"That would be bad?" She asked slowly.

"Oh, yes. Very." Nodded Rose. "We once traveled with a guy who used future technology to basically put a computer in his head. Now he is stuck back in the past with a forehead that opens whenever you snap." Rose snapped her fingers and the Doctor laughed.

"I can see how that would be problematic." Martha said, their feet still shuffling through the crowd of people. "So, how come it disappeared in the first place?"

"Do you think this is something else that eventually has to do with us?" Rose asked, because generally, trouble was one of their constant companions.

"I guess we are going to have to find out." He winked. "I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the TARDIS, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."

.

They spent a while walking around trying to find the residence of William Shakespeare. When they found the place he was residing they made their way cautiously upstairs. They passed a woman on their way up. Martha jumped with delight and Rose smiled saying, "I can't believe we are going to go talk to the genius!"

"I know; it feels like I am dreaming!" Martha said, clapping her hands. "But I am so glad I'm not."

"Hello!" the Doctor knocked on the door frame and slid into the room, smiling, seeing Shakespeare sitting at a table with two men. A single maid was in the corner of the room, cleaning. "Excuse me; I'm not interrupting, am I? Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?"

"Oh no, no, no, no!" Shakespeare waved him off, clearly not at all modest and not particularly friendly. "Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove…"

Martha peered behind the Doctor excitedly and then Rose also took a nervous look. Shakespeare's eyes fell on the two girls sticking their heads out.

"Hey, nonny, nonny!" he said much to his pleasure. "Sit right down here next to me ladies. You two, get to sewing on them costumes. Off you go."

He gestured to the two men he had been having conversation with and the lady they had passed on the stairs came back into the room.

"Come on lads," said she. "I think our William's found himself a couple of new muses."

Martha and Rose tentatively stepped closer with big grins stretching on their faces.

"Sweet ladies," he said looking them up and down. "Such unusual clothes. So… fitted."

They sat down in the seats the two men no longer occupied. The Doctor decided to stay standing right behind Roses chair.

"Um, verily, forsooth. Egads." Martha tried to sound from the time but the Doctor just shook his head.

"No, no, don't do that, no." he told Martha and then held up the psychic paper, leaning over the table to show it to Shakespeare. "I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS and these are my companions; Dame Rose Tyler of the Powell Estate, and Miss Martha Jones."

"Sir Doctor? Dame Rose?" Martha whispered to Rose. "Where is my title?"

"Well, we have actually been knighted by Queen Victoria." Rose told her. "Right before she banished us."

"Really?" asked Martha, astonished.

"Yeah, I can tell you more about it later, if you want." Rose laughed decided to turn their attention back to the Doctor and Shakespeare.

"Interesting , that bit of paper," Shakespeare said, pointing at it. "It's blank."

. "Oh, that's… very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius!" The Doctor grinned happily.

"No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose Tyler and Martha Jones. It says so." Martha said, looking at the paper.

"And I say it's blank." Shakespeare insisted.

"This is the psychic paper," the Doctor explained. "It tricks the minds of people to see what they expect to read but true geniuses see nothing right off."

"Psychic?" Shakespeare looked puzzled but very interested. "Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you exactly? More to the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"

"What did you say?" Martha asked him, clearly surprised with his flirtatious tone.

"Whops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays?" he put his hand in the air, again dramatically. "An Ethiop girl? A Swarth? A Queen of Afric?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." Martha almost laughed.

"It's political correctness gone mad." the Doctor said rubbing his face. "Um, Martha and Rose are from a far off land. Freedonia."

"Excuse me! Hold hard a moment," a man yelled as he barged into the room. "This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr. Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

He had a long beard and a ruffled collar, some large pompous accessories hanging around him. He was clearly angry and his harsh tone made Rose dislike him.

"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round," Shakespeare said.

"I do not work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!" he bellowed.

"I can't." he said, basically telling him to deal with it, but the man retorted back.

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled!"

"It's all go around here, innit?" Martha looked at the Doctor and Rose.

"I'm returning to my office for a banning order." He started to turn to walk back out the door. "If it's the last thing I do, 'Love's Labour's Won' will never be played!"

Martha grabbed a cup in front of her and looked inside.

"Is this supposed to be beer?" she asked.

"Yes." Said Shakespeare, "Fine dark woman; drink if you wish."

Rose giggled at Shakespeare and then looked at the Doctor, "He reminds me of Jack."

"Yeah, I suppose." He smiled.

"Well, then," Martha spoke up. "Mystery solved. That's 'Loves Labour's Won' over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know… more mysterious."

Suddenly they heard a scream from outside. The Doctor stood up and ran out of the room, then followed by Martha, Rose and Shakespeare. They ran down the stairs, holding the railing and didn't travel far to find the source of the commotion. The man that was just upstairs yelling at them was now, holding his throat, appearing to be choking.

"It's that Lynley bloke," Martha said, shuffling her feet unsure of what to do.

He curled over himself and water poured out of his mouth, too much water for there to be naturally.

Rose ran over to help support him with the Doctor right behind her.

"Leave it to me, I'm a doctor." the Doctor said.

"So am I," Martha said walking over to help as well. "Near enough…"

Water poured from his mouth as he sputtered, choked and then fell over. Rose kneeled down next to him and Martha listened for the heart. The Doctor ran off from them looking around, trying to find something.

"Got to get the heart going. Mr. Lynley, c'mon, can you hear me? You're going to be alright." Martha said but Rose knew better; this man was not going to survive. Eventually the Doctor made his way back over. Martha opened his mouth to start CPR when more water poured out.

"What the hell?" Martha said, flustered.

"I've never seen a death like it. His lungs are full of water – he drowned and then… I dunno, like a blow to the heart. An invisible blow." The Doctor said and then stood up to talk to the lady from the house. "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural, if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

"Yes, sir." She said but then the maid grabbed her arm and said she would do it.

Martha looked at the body of Lynley and then up at the Doctor. "Why did you tell them that?"

"This lot sill have got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft." He explained.

"What was it then?" Rose asked him.

"Witchcraft."

.

"I've got you a room, Sir Doctor," the Lady of the House told him. "You and your companions are just across the landing. I'm afraid it may be a tad small, but it's all we had left." The Doctor nodded his thank you, and she left the room.

"Poor Lynley," Shakespeare spoke. "So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia, where a woman can be a doctor?"

"Where a woman can do what she likes," Martha told him.

Rose thought about an old movie she had once watched called _Duck Soup_. It included the Marx brothers and a very funny take on a country called Freedonia. Rose laughed silently to herself and then made a mental note to maybe ask the Doctor to visit the Marx brothers sometime.

"And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?"

"I do a lot of reading," he replied, but Rose knew the real reason for why Shakespeare made that remark, and so she frowned to herself.

"A trite reply, yeah? That's what I do." He turned to look at Martha. "And you, you look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me. And you Dame Tyler," he turned to her and paused for a long moment, bringing a hand to his chin. "You have a deep sense of wonder in your eyes, but it is not new. The both of you look at each other knowingly, but yet there is still so much more to be discovered about one another."

The Doctor shuffled his feet sort of awkwardly and then Martha spoke, walking towards the door, "I think we should say goodnight."

"I must to work," Shakespeare said turning to his desk. "I have a play to complete. But I'll get my answers tomorrow Doctor. And I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours."

"All the world's a stage," the Doctor quoted as they made their way to leave.

"Hmm, I might use that," Shakespeare nodded, dignified with his hand on his hip. "Goodnight, Doctor."

"Nighty-night, Shakespeare." He grabbed Rose and they walked down the stairs and then across the street to find their room.

.

"It's not exactly five-star, is it?" Martha said to the two of them as they walked in.

The room had one small bed in the center, a dresser and a small cushioned bench near the window. The room was only lit by small candle light and everything looked, like everything else in London at the time, substantially dirty.

"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse," the Doctor said.

"I'm exhausted!" Rose said, flopping onto the tiny bed. "How long have we been up?"

It was true that they had been awake for longer than they expected. They hadn't slept before yesterday, when they met Martha on the moon. But then again, time was always wobbly when it came to the Doctor; they didn't really have 'days' on the TARDIS. Most of the time they just slept when they needed it; Rose usually longer because the Doctor and his superior biology always seemed to be up and about, full of energy.

"So who's going where?" Martha asked. "There's only one bed."

"Oh, um right." Rose said hopping off the bed and looking around the room and eyeing the small bench. "I guess I can take the bench."

She picked up one of the two blankets on the bed and tossed it onto the bench.

"Don't be silly, Rose you can have the bed." Said Martha and as much as she regretted it, it seemed to be option that made the most sense. "You and the Doctor can both have it."

Rose looked a little surprised and tried her hardest not to make eye contact with the Doctor.

"Well, um-" she started but the Doctor jumped on the bed and patted it.

"Don't be silly, we can manage."

She smiled and sat down next to him. He lifted his arm up to the headboard and she inched closer to snuggle in. Martha walked across the room and sat down on the bench.

"So, magic and stuff," she said, taking the blanket in her arms and laying it out across her, testing how big it was. "That's a surprise. It's a little bit 'Harry Potter'."

"Oh! Wait till you read book seven," the Doctor told her. "I cried."

"Doctor!" Rose looked at him and laughed. "You didn't tell me you like Harry Potter."

"Well, of course I do." He grinned at her.

"But… is it real though? I mean – witches, black magic and all that, it's real?"

"'Course it isn't!" he scoffed at her.

"Well, how am I supposed to know? I've only just started believing in time travel. Give me a break." She made herself cozy on the bench as much as possible.

"Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't," the Doctor said. "There's such a thing as psychic energy but a human couldn't channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that."

"Well then it is probably alien, with our résumé." Rose said. "How many of you other life forms look like humans?"

Rose poked him in the chest and he replied, "Oh there are a magnanimous amount of humanoids out there and you would be surprised."

"Would I, really?" she asked him.

"Well, maybe not anymore." He said getting up off the bed and grabbing the edge of the blanket so he could lie underneath.

Rose followed his actions and before she could think much of it the Doctor and her laid side by side in the small bed. There wasn't much room so naturally they were very close to each other, bodies tense with the awkwardness of the moment. But Rose could feel the Doctor loosen and so she did the same, trying to make herself comfortable. She turned on her side and blew out the candle, so that it was almost completely dark except for the small amount of light that came through the window from the streets outside. They waited a while and Martha had already fallen asleep. Rose was on the brink when the Doctor's voice caught her attention.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked, a little cautiously.

"Yeah, Doctor?" she said, turning her head over her shoulder to look at him, but really only seeing the outline of his face.

"Are you really, though?" he asked her.

"Really what?"

"Sore." The word escaped his mouth, mostly a whisper.

Rose stopped a second to think about how he had mentioned a massage earlier. She didn't think he was that entirely serious and so not sure exactly what to say to the Doctor. She decided to just go with it, be truthful. After all why be complicating?

"Yeah," she sighed but then her tone lightened. "For a couple days now my shoulders have been killing me-"

She was going to continue, but then the Doctor grabbed her left shoulder with his hand. The sudden contact had made her stop talking.

"I actually am pretty good at massages." He said. "I learned the best of back rubs from the women of the Tribe of the Ki-yang on planet Grivalda." His grip tightened on her shoulder and he said, "I can give you one if you want."

She smiled and then forced words to come out, "Yeah… that would be nice."

He scooted somewhat closer, even though Rose thought that impossible with the size of the bed and started applying gentle pressure using his palms and his thumbs. Rose bit her lip, trying her hardest not to make her breathing sound so pleasurable.

The Doctor continued to knead her shoulders slowly making his way to her lower back. On the inside of his body his hearts pounded loud and fast. He tried to not to think about it and all of his emotions. For some reason everything about Rose Tyler made him feel so _human_, even though he was anything but. It was so human to hold hands when walking down the street; it was so human to think thoughts of jealousy, protectiveness and love… But he told himself every time he thought it, he couldn't love Rose. Things like that didn't happen. He was a Time Lord, for Rassinlon's sake. He didn't do domestic, he would always have to sleep alone.

Except for this time he wasn't. His hands traveled about her back until he accidentally reached the end of her shirt where a bit of skin was exposed. He pulled his hand back quickly and Rose shivered. His arm rested right above her side but didn't quite touch it. They were silent until Rose spoke.

"Thanks, Doctor," She said, very tiredly and quietly. "For the back rub. I needed it."

"Right…" he whispered, almost into her hair. "No problem."

"Goodnight."

"'Night."

He finally rested his arm on her and she grabbed it with her hands, moving across her side to lay near her stomach at her front. The Doctor breathed the smell of Rose through his nose and happy to have his arm around her, feeling like he was claiming what was his- even though, technically, she wasn't. Rose happily kept a hand near the Doctors, wishing he could always have it there, even though she knew he couldn't. Both very comfortable, happy, and slightly nervous at the uncharted territory they just tested, -telling themselves that this was probably unlikely to ever happen again- they fell asleep.

**I couldn't resist not mentioning Freedonia from Duck Soup! (Which, by the way, you should look up if you've never seen it- it is so funny.) Also i decided to give that small hint on Saxon! It fit so well with the Ray Bradbury short story (which is also a good one, called: A Sound of Thunder). Anyways, i decided to end here because it was just too cute!**

**Thanks for the reviews! I get so excited when i get E-mails the next morning because of them. ;) **


	10. Chapter 10

THE PHYSICIAN AND THE FLOWER

The Shakespearean Code- Carrionite!

Chapter Ten

The Doctor woke only hours after he fell asleep, naturally, as he didn't need much of it anyways. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the top of Rose's head. Breathing in her scent he smiled slightly and his face flushed silently in the dark. His body was tangled with Rose's, probably more than it should be. She had shifted her body to face his while they were both asleep. Both of his arms were wrapped around her and her face was buried in his chest. He laid there feeling her breath crawl from his chest up to his neck and his body shivered. His smile grew wider but he quickly banished it.

Rose was his companion. Not someone he could pleasurably sleep next to. He couldn't allow this to happen. Every moment spent with Rose was beautiful and enjoyable, but all roses withered and died. He couldn't think the very _human_ thoughts that lingered in his spacious brain. He knew he couldn't do anything he wanted with Rose, because he would be too sad without her when she was gone. He had to do something about that.

He would no longer allow himself to hold on to her for a few seconds more than friendly whenever they embraced. He couldn't keep grabbing her hand and looking into her eyes with so much love. And he definitely should not be holding her so close. So close he could feel her chest fall and rise against his. So close that both his hands were pressed against her back and he could feel the warmth of her skin that was only some layers of clothing away from him. The feeling sent a tingle down his spine.

His thoughts were getting away from the main point. The main point, which was the fact he needed to distance himself from Rose, if he didn't want to suffer later. He frowned when he kept thinking about it. He decided to try and pull away from her; that was a start. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was so consumed with her in his arms it just felt wrong to try and pull away.

The Doctor decided that this time, and this time only, he was going to be selfish. He didn't need to distance himself. The result would still be the same, no matter what. She was human and would die long before he could. Why suffer along the way?

Now was the time to make the most of it. Now was the time to enjoy Rose while he still could. He would be sad later, he knew it. But that was the point. He would be sad _later._

He dipped his head down and kissed the top of her forehead. His lips lingered there and he closed his eyes. In the silence his breath evened.

Unexpectedly, a scream erupted from somewhere outside. The Doctor pulled away from Rose quickly and sat up in the bed. The sudden movement woke Rose and Martha. Martha flung off her blanket and got off her bench. The Doctor walked up towards the window and looked out. Rose got off the bed.

"Was' happening?" she asked, pushing her hair out of her face.

"C'mon." said the Doctor, running out of their room.

Rose and Martha followed quickly changing from sheepishly sleepy to alert and functional; to prepare for whatever chaos was going on at the moment. They crossed the street to Shakespeare's quarters. When they made their way up the stairs and stopped when they reached the room. The lady of the house lay on the floor lifeless. Shakespeare was unconscious facedown at his desk, a quill in his hand. The window was open with the draped flapping in the wind. Rose and the Doctor kneeled down to look at the body. Rose lay a hand over her mouth in horror, but used to the sight of seeing dead people.

And she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"What? What was that?" Shakespeare said raising his head from his desk, dazed and confused.

"Hear heart gave out. She died of fright," the Doctor said, still hanging over the body of the dead woman.

"Doctor!" Martha cried, looking out the window.

"What did you see?" The Doctor got up and joined her near the window.

"A witch!" She said.

"What do you mean a witch?" Rose asked from across the room.

"It was flying on a broom!" Martha said, pointing out the window. "And was cackling. Like a real witch."

"But witches don't really exist." Rose shook her head. "Like magic and all that. Not real. So it must be alien. Right, Doctor?"

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "Must be."

.

After they had taken care of the Lady of the House- who was Dolly Bailey's- body, they made their way back upstairs to sit down with Shakespeare and discuss what was happening. By that time it was almost dawn and the people of London were rising and the streets were soon to be filled with noise. Rose could see the Doctor was heavy in thought as he sat down at the desk. Rose leaned against the bookshelf while Martha took the other seat.

Shakespeare sat opposite them, rubbing his hands through his hair. "Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit."

"'Rage, rage, against the dying of the light." The Doctor quoted poetry.

"I might use that." Shakespeare pointed at him at the mention of the words.

"You can't." he responded. "It's someone else's."

"But the thing is," Martha said. "Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright. And they were both connected to you."

"Are you accusing me?" Shakespeare asked.

"No, but I saw a witch, cackling away. And you've written about witches." She reasoned.

"I have? When was that?" He asked.

"No." The Doctor looked at her, folding him arms. "Not quite yet."

"Peter Streete spoke of witches." Shakespeare added to the little and hardly useful information they had gathered.

"Who's Peter Streete?" Rose asked, walking over to stand nearer to the Doctor and Martha.

"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe."

"The architect." the Doctor mused but then banged his hand on the table and swiftly stood up. "Hold on. The architect! The architect!"

He rushed out the door followed by the rest of the party. They rushed down the stairs and then out to the street. Although they were walking quickly, the Doctor didn't hesitate to grab Rose's hand. By now it was basically just instinct. Behind them Martha looked at Shakespeare and he held out his arm, testing if she wanted to grab hold. He also, wanted to make memories of whatever time was given him with these people.

_Might as well. He is Shakespeare, after all._ Thought Martha and she looped her arm through.

The four of them quickly paced their way to the Globe Theater.

.

They stood on the stage while the Doctor paced on the floor below them. Rose and Martha smiled at each other, taking in the fact that they were currently standing on a stage, with the man himself. It looked bigger without all the people and Rose didn't really realize the beauty of the architecture when they attended the previous night.

"The columns there, right? 14 sides. I've always wondered but I never asked... tell me, Will, why 14 sides?" The Doctor looked up at Shakespeare, still pacing.

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all." He shrugged it off. "Said it carried the sound well."

"Why does that ring a bell? 14…" The cogs turned in his head.

"There are 14 lines in a sonnet." Martha suggested.

"So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. 14 lines, 14 sides, 14 facets…Oh, my head. Tetradecagon... think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!" The way he was trying to work things out made Rose think of the time they encountered the Slitheen on Downing Street. His old ninth incarnation stood around a table in the room. Harriet Jones and Rose named off characteristics while the Doctor narrowed things down.

"This is just a theatre!" Shakespeare said, throwing his arms about him.

"But a theatre is magic, isn't it?" said the Doctor, walking towards them on the stage. "You should know, Will. Standing on this stage, say the right words with the right emphasis at the right time… Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy – change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place. And if you exaggerate that…"

"Like that police box with all that power inside." Martha laughed.

"Power with words." Said Rose.

"Oh, Rose you're brilliant!" he smiled and then hopped up on the stage. "That narrows things down. Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?"

"You won't get an answer," Shakespeare said. "A month after finishing this place... lost his mind."

"What happened to him?" asked Rose.

"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled." Shakespeare shook his head.

"Where is he now?" the Doctor asked.

"Bedlam." He answered.

"What's Bedlam?" questioned Martha.

"Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse." He said, tones of warning in his voice,.,

"We're going there," the Doctor said. "Right now. Come on."

He hopped off the stage, grabbing Rose with him. Martha walked down the stairs leading off the stage, followed by Shakespeare.

"Wait!" He called. "I'm coming with you. I want to witness this first hand."

As they passed on the way out they passed two younger men, making their way into the theater.

Shakespeare stopped to talk to them, before hurrying out and catching up with them.

"So, tell me of Freedonia." Shakespeare looked at Martha. "Where women can be doctors, writers, actors…"

"This country's ruled by a woman." Martha said, as a matter-of-factly.

"Ah, she's a royal. That's God's business." He nodded. " Though, you are a royal beauty."

"Whoa, Nelly!" Martha stopped in her steps."I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country."

"But Martha, this is town," he said slyly while the Doctor and Rose turned around to face them.

"Come on," he said. "We can all have a good flirt later."

"Is that a promise, Doctor?" He took his time to have a good look at all three of them, up and down.

"Oh," the Doctor rocked back and forth on his feet. "57 academics just punched the air. Now move!" The Doctor continued moving, his overcoat wildly dancing behind him.

.

When they reached Bedlam they found it, dark, damp and dirtier than everywhere else they had been. The people inside screamed, clinging to the bars in their agony and without their sanity. The torches hanging on the walls and rusty bars made the place look eerie and cold. A man led them in, his big black boots thumping when he walked on the straw and dirt floors.

"Does my lord, Doctor, wish some entertainment while he waits? I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Bandog and Bedlam!" He joked and swished the whip he was holding around in his hand.

"No I don't!" The Doctor said strongly.

"Wait here, my lords, while I make him… ah, decent for the ladies," the Jailor continued on without them.

"So this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?" Martha asked, appalled.

"Oh, and it's all so different in Freedonia." Shakespeare said sarcastically.

"But you're clever!" Martha cried. "Do you honestly think this place is any good?"

"I've been mad. I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose."

"Mad in what way?" Rose asked, concerned.

"He lost his son." The Doctor said, sorrowful.

"My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there." He said, looking down at his feet but then raising his head with dignity yet again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Martha said.

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be… Oh, that's quite good." He nodded, happily at his own statement.

"You should write that down." the Doctor suggested and Rose giggled.

"Hmm, maybe not. A bit pretentious?" he asked and the Doctor only nodded in agreement.

"This way, My Lords!" The Jailor called out to them from the end of the hall. They made their way over and the jailor showed them the proper cell. "They can be dangerous, my Lord. Don't know their own strength."

"I think it helps if you don't whip them! Now get out!" the Doctor shouted at him, with his hands in his pockets. A shivering man sat in the middle of the floor, crouched with his hand to his nest of messy hair. The Doctor turned to face him, squatting close by. "Peter? Peter Streete?"

"He's the same as he was," Shakespeare said. "You'll get nothing out of him."

"Peter?" the Doctor placed a hand on Peter's shoulder and abruptly is head shot up. The man's eyes moved fearfully, a glassy grey. The look on his face was a frightful sight and looked like it was fearful itself. The Doctor placed his hands to the man's temples and closed his eyes, peering into his memories. "Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past, one year ago. Let your mind go back, back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A winter's tale. Let go. Listen. That's it, just let go. Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches."

He had lowered Peter on to his bed, somewhat relaxed. His face twitched and his gross black teeth moved when he finally spoke.

"Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered." He said in third person, his arm going through spasms. "Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. _Their_ design! The 14 walls — always 14… When the work was done they snapped poor Peter's wits."

"Well, where did Peter see the witches? Where in the city?" The Doctor asked the poor madman. "Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me. Where were they?"

"All Hallows Street," Peter said in a moment of clarity.

Rose screamed and the Doctor followed her gaze to behind him. An ugly looking woman with a large pointy nose and horrid straggly grey hair stood behind him. He jumped at the sight moving to the other side of the cell.

"Too many words," she rasped and pointed a finger towards the irrational quivering man lying on the dirty bed.

"What the hell?" Martha shouted taken aback.

Rose grabbed the Doctor's sleeve, frightened. He acknowledged it by grabbing her side.

"Just one touch of the heart…" she said reaching out a gruesome hand with pointy long nails.

"No!" yelled the Doctor!

On the bed in the cell, Peter died in agony, writhing in his insanity. The witch raised her hands, seething and cackling. Her long black, torn sleeves hung about her tiny body.

"Witch! I'm seeing a witch!" Shakespeare said pointing at the thing.

"Now, who would be next?" the witch laughed. "Just one touch. Oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals."

Martha ran to escape but the cell was locked shut and she just rattled the bars screaming,"Let us out! Let us out!"

"That's not gonna work," the Doctor told her. "The whole building's shouting that."

"Who will die first, hmm?" The witch said, looking around in amusement.

"Well, if you're looking for volunteers…" The Doctor said meaning to step forward but Rose pulled him back.

"No you will not!" She told him.

"Don't worry Rose." He brushed Rose's fears away as if they were nothing and she sighed, contempt.

"Doctor, can you stop her?" Shakespeare said worriedly.

"No mortal has power over me." the witch seethed, the old skin sagging on her face.

"Oh, but there's a power in words. If I can find the right one — if I can just know you..." He said, narrowing things down in his head, just like that time in Downing Street.

"None on Earth has knowledge of us." She said, although didn't seem so sure.

"Then it's a good thing I'm here, he said. "Now think, think, think... Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy... ah, 14! That's it! 14! The 14 stars of the Rexel planetary configuration!" He jumped with joy and then pointed at her. "Creature, I name you Carrionite!"

The witch screamed and shrunk and disappeared in front of them. She turned into dust with a small bang and nothing was left but an empty space and a dead madman lying on his cot.

"What did you do?" Rose asked.

"I named her," he said. "Power of a name, that's old magic."

"But there's no such thing as magic." Martha said.

"Well, it's just a different sort of science. "He told them. "You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead."

"Use them for what?" Shakespeare questioned.

"The end of the world." He said, and then solemnly looked at the dead man in the room. "We best be of then."

The Doctor sonic'd the cell open and they all left back to Shakespeare's. They all sat in his room again, sitting round the desk. Shakespeare washed his face to help cope with the dealings of the day. He calmed down his nervousness and dried his face with a towel.

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend." The Doctor explained and then got up so he could pace the room.

"Well, I'm going for real!" Shakespeare said shaking the towel about. "Witches!"

"A new empire on Earth. A world of bones and blood and witchcraft." He said, exaggerating a consonant from each word, which Rose loved very much.

"But how?" Martha asked.

"I'm looking at the man with the words," the Doctor said nodding to Shakespeare.

"Me?" he felt accused. "But I've done nothing."

"Wait a minute," Rose said. "What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?"

"Finishing the play." He said and then the Doctor looked up at him.

"What happens on the last page?" the Doctor asked.

"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought provoking as usual — Except," he said looking up puzzled, "those last few lines. Funny thing is... I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it!" The Doctor said, backing away from Shakespeare's desk, intensity growing in his complexion. "They used you. They gave you the final words. Likea spell, like a code. 'Love's Labours Won' — it's a weapon! The right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that."

They paced around the room and then the Doctor looked at Shakespeare. "Do you have a map?"

"Of what?" he asked.

"Just the surrounding area." He said, twirling his finger in the air.

Oddly enough, Shakespeare pulled a small drawing from his desk he had sketched and then laid it out on the table. He took his glassed from his front pocket and put them on.

"All Hallows Street," the Doctor said, pointing at it. "Rose, Martha, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play!"

"I'll do it," he said, holding out his hand to shake the Doctors. "All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."

"It's not that bad." Rose smiled.

"Don't complain!" Martha said.

"I'm not!" Shakespeare laughed. "It's marvelous. Good luck, Doctor."

"Good luck, Shakespeare." Said the Doctor, taking off his glasses and then running for the door. "Once more unto the breach!"

"I like that," Shakespeare said. "Wait a minute… that's one of mine!"

"Oh, just shift!" the Doctor told him before disappearing down the stairs with all of them following at hand.

.

The streets had gotten dark and they walked them one by one until they reached All Hallows Street. Around them were small buildings, people with their horses and a lot of hay.

"All Hallows Street," the Doctor specified. "But which house?"

"The thing is, though... am I missing something here?" Martha said. "The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me — I'm living proof."

"History can be rewritten." Rose told her, remembering the specific event of the time she visited her father and how badly that turned out.

"How to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux?" the Doctor pondered. "I know! 'Back to the Future'! It's like 'Back to the Future'!"

"The film?" Martha said, surprised but excited.

"No, the novelisation," he said sarcastically. "Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"And he starts fading away…" Martha's eyebrows raised and she looked at him in horror. "Oh my god, am I going to fade away?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied to Martha. "You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?"

Off to the side Rose had wandered a bit and then called out to the Doctor.

"Doctor!" she said and they came walking over. "Look."

Her gaze was locked on something above them and they looked up at a sign hanging from a wall. It swung to and fro and on it they saw a carving of a wolf. The wood was chipping in places and the paint seemed to fade but they could still read underneath where it said 'Bad Wolf Inn'.

"Oh, no." the Doctor said, running his hands through his hair.

"'Bad Wolf Inn'? Does that mean anything important?" Martha asked them while they just looked at the sign, partly horrified and a bit confused.

"What does it mean, Doctor?" Rose asked. "Is something going to happen to me?"

"I don't know." He said and then looked at her, worriedly. "Rose, are you feeling okay? Has anything happened to you recently that had to do with Bad Wolf, other than Canary Warf? Dreams, visions, random hand glowing?"

"No." she replied. "I would have remembered."

"What is it?" Martha said, very puzzled as to what was happening.

"It's a long story." Rose said. "I suppose we can tell you later."

"Right, later…" the Doctor said. "Oh, I'm not liking this."

Right then the door opened to the Inn all on its own, clattering against the wall. It revealed a lit staircase, basically beckoning them to follow. As they climbed inside they pushed passed an old, dirty curtain to view a messy, and rather disgusting room. A woman stood in front of a black, rusty cauldron. Although, it said Inn outside, Rose suspected not many came to stay. And if they did, they probably never checked out.

"I take it we're expected." The Doctor said.

"Oh, I think death has been waiting a very long time for you." She said, ominously.

"Right then," Martha said tapping the Doctor and then stepping towards the witch. "It's my turn. I know how to do this. I name thee, Carrionite!"

Lilith, the witched gasped as if surprised but then laughed at her failed attempt.

"What did I do wrong?" Martha asked sadly. "Was it the finger?"

"Power of the name only works once," she snickered and then pointed at Martha. "Observe. I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones."

Martha's eyes rose up into her skull and then she fainted, collapsing. Rose caught her in the air and the Doctor helped her down onto the floor.

"What did you do?" Rose cried.

"Only sleeping, alas." Lilith said looking at her finger disappointed. "Curious, the name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. And as for you, Sir Doctor! – Fascinating… there is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair?"

"The naming won't work on me." he told her, stepping closer.

"Oh, but I see one with a power stronger than any other amongst your thoughts." She stretched out her finger again, ready to point. Her gaze suddenly turned to Rose who was still on the floor, kneeling over Martha. She pointed at Rose menacingly. "For this single flower thine heartbeat slows, no way to save your beloved… Rose."

Rose clutched her chest and then went lifeless. The Doctor immediately followed her to the floor, lying her down next to Martha. He looked at her body and then brought his ear to her chest, checking for a heartbeat, but heard nothing.

"What have you done!?" he screamed and then grabbed her hands in his own and whispered. "Rose…"

"Interesting how the power is stronger with her and not the other." The Carrionite said, slowly backing towards to other side of the room.

"Rose." He said again, this time into her ear, but it was useless. Her body lay without life and very still on the wooden floor.

He couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes while the witch just cackled in the background. The Doctor barely had time to register before he filled with fury as he turned to face the Carrionite. He was about to erupt with all the power in the universe- for the most important thing to him in that moment had just been thieved away and that thief was going to _pay_- but then he noticed her hand.

Rose's hand had started to glow. Her whole body, he realised, was glowing gold. The energy consumed her and her eyes shot open, burning gold. She shone, her body becoming even brighter as she lay on the floor of the Bad Wolf Inn.

_Bad Wolf_, Thought the Doctor. It was a message written across times and this was one of those times. And these were always times where something had gone wrong but it had been fixed, somehow, and it didn't make sense to him.

As quick as her body had glowed it stopped. Rose gasped and coughed, her lungs searching for air. The Doctor grabbed her in his arms and clung her body to his, not letting go of the warm embrace. He clutched her head, fingers in her hair.

"What happened?" Rose asked, slightly dazed.

"Oh, Rose!" He said, drawing her head back again and then putting his forehead to hers.

Rose could see the dampness in his eyes and looked at him worriedly. "Doctor?"

"Bad Wolf. It brought you back." He said but when he saw the confusion in her eyes he decided it didn't enough make enough sense for him to explain at the time. "I will explain in a minute."

He then stood up, blinking away any moisture still left in his eyes. There would be time to talk later about the suspicious Bad Wolf. Right now there were more pressing matters.

The Carrionite looked at Rose wondering what happened. She was scared and backed away cautiously. "What sort of magic is that?!"

"You and I both know magic is not real." He said, shaking his head at her. "The Carrionites vanished! Where did you go?"

"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into deep darkness," Lilith replied, still frightened.

"And how did you escape?"

"New words. New glittering words from a mind like no other." She smiled slightly this time, but her eyes filled with fear every time they flickered to Rose.

"Shakespeare." He said, understanding.

"His son perished. The grief of a genius. Grief without measure. Madness enough to allow us entrance." She explained, happily.

"How many of you?" he asked.

"Just the three," she said with a tone of disappointment. "But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged as pestilence. And from this world we will lead the universe back to the old ways of blood and magic."

"But first, you've got to get past me." He said, walking up closer to her.

"Oh, that should be a pleasure considering my enemy has such a handsome shape," she said reaching forward to stroke his head with her hand.

"Now, that's one form of magic that's defiantly not going to work on me." he said, begging to back away.

"Oh, we'll see," she said and he could hear the faint sound of a *snip*.

The Doctor's hand flew to his head as he searched for what happened. "What did you do?"

"Souvenir." She said, raising some scissors to face, some of his hair in them.

"Well, give it back!" He tried to reach for her but the window had opened on its own and she flew out of it, hanging in the air.

Rose ran up to look out the window with the Doctor and muttered, "Well, that's just cheating."

"Behold, Doctor," Lilith said as she pulled a doll from her pocket and began wrapping his hair around it. "Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets."

"Now, you might call that magic," the Doctor said. "But I'd call that a DNA replication module."

"So maybe the Rose fared well, but your science won't save you now." She stabbed the chest of the doll with a pin and flew off into the sky.

The Doctor fell sideways, falling into Rose. She managed to break his fall enough and he lied on the floor, in pain. Martha had gotten up from the floor, awake from her sleep and ran over yelling, "Doctor!"

He got up but then fell dramatically, clinging onto Rose.

"I have only got one heart working. How do you people cope? Hit me on the chest!" he said, and Martha did as she was told. He cried pain and then puffed, "Other side!" He fell over onto all fours. "Now the back!" Martha hit his back and he fell over once more, than to lift himself up energetically, smiling. "Much better!"

"Well that looked painful." Martha said, concerned.

"Just a bit. But, Rose." He then turned to face her and grabbed her shoulders, looking her in the eyes, one by one. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She nodded. "I'm not sure I understand Bad Wolf or what it did but yeah… perfectly fine."

The Doctor thought about what she just said and realised that he needed to stop getting Rose into life jeopardizing situations. Or was she just a jeopardy- friendly person? Bad Wolf was not something he wanted to be a reoccurrence. It was to shifty and made too little sense.

"You sure?" he said, looking her up and down.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine Doctor."

Martha looked at them, eyebrow raised as to why the Doctor was so concerned about her when she wasn't really sure why she passed out herself. "What just happened?"

"No time now." The Doctor said, pulling Rose into a quick hug and then grabbing her hand, heading for the exit and then facing Martha. "We have a play to stop."

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**MWAAHAHHAHA. Throwing in my own plans that are slowly shaping up. They will explain some more things later, when there is time. Thank you to all who reviews and follows! ;) **


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